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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25528723">I’ve Been Trying Hard Not To Act A Fool (Sunflower)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/D0ntw0rry4bout1t/pseuds/D0ntw0rry4bout1t'>D0ntw0rry4bout1t</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Heathers (1988), Heathers: The Musical - Murphy &amp; O'Keefe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Poly!Heathers, but I promise that’s what this is, cottagecore au, itll take a bit to get to the actual cottagecore, thats about it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:07:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>19,702</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25528723</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/D0ntw0rry4bout1t/pseuds/D0ntw0rry4bout1t</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You guys hear the one about the girl that’s in love with three girls who just so happen to be in love with each other? What about the part where she doesn’t realize that the three girls even know each other?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Heather Chandler/Heather Duke/Heather McNamara, Heather Chandler/Heather Duke/Heather McNamara/Veronica Sawyer, Heather Chandler/Veronica Sawyer, Heather Duke/Veronica Sawyer, Heather McNamara/Veronica Sawyer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>291</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Veronica’s Worst Day (Maybe)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Veronica was gonna die. Not literally, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t wish it was. She was gonna die of complete and utter embarrassment at the hands of Betty. For as long as Veronica has worked at this coffee shop, she’s never been </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> embarrassed around a customer. But here she was, trying to act like her face wasn’t as red as the burning of her ears were telling her it is, because Betty thought it would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>hilarious</span>
  </em>
  <span> to take advantage of the, very unusual, breakfast rush and sneak Veronica’s phone number onto the cute strawberry blondes to-go cup. On </span>
  <em>
    <span>Heather’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>cup.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, now she has to quit her job. And find a new friend, apparently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wouldn’t be so bad if she hadn’t noticed as soon as the cup was handed to Heather. And then noticed the subtle smirk and look she gave Veronica. Or the wink. Or the way she sauntered out of the shop.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was bad enough Betty teased her for the schoolyard crush she had on the customer that came in </span>
  <em>
    <span>every</span>
  </em>
  <span> morning, but she wasn’t the only girl that had caught Veronica’s eye that Betty knew about. There was also the cute librarian that Veronica saw every week when she went to check out a new book. With her snarky comments she’d make about the obnoxious Boomers as soon as they were out of earshot and her pretty eyes that light up whenever Veronica gets a book she’s already read.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then there was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>other</span>
  </em>
  <span> cute girl that ran her favorite booth at the farmer’s market every Saturday. The one with hair that looks like it was made from literal sunlight and the cutest laugh that makes the butterflies in her stomach have a rave.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Betty calls them Business Bitch, Library Lady, and The One That Makes That Really Good Jam. Veronica calls them all by name.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Which, ironically enough, is the same name.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather, Heather, and Heather.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Don’t make any jokes about it, she’s already heard them all from Betty the moment she found out. A cruel joke from the universe. She’s in love with three girls and they all are named the same thing? Go to hell, Universe.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From what she’s gathered about the Heathers, Customer Heather is in charge of Very Important Business Things. At least, that’s how she dresses every morning. It also shows in her order that has way too much caffeine and sugar. Library Heather is an open and proud lesbian, which she found out by the </span>
  <em>
    <span>one </span>
  </em>
  <span>time Betty went with her to drop off a book she had finished and very blatantly asked her. She almost killed her then, too. Farmer’s Market Heather takes gardening and jam making very seriously. She has a decent sized garden near her cottage right on the outskirts of town where she grows all of her produce and tends to them for at least three hours everyday.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Betty can’t tell what Veronica sees in any of them. Except for maybe Library Heather. She’s pretty funny. But other than a name, they have nothing in common with each other. And as far as Betty can remember, Veronica’s ‘type’ had always been the alternative type of girl’s. The ones that they would’ve been friends with in middle school that would’ve gotten bullied along with them. Not the ones that look like they did the bullying.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And if Veronica was being honest, she didn’t know what drew her in to all three girls either. But here she was, taking a ‘break’ in the fridge to try and cool her flushed face all because one of them </span>
  <em>
    <span>winked</span>
  </em>
  <span> at her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know,” Betty started, “if I didn’t know any better I’d say that your little girlfriend liked your present on her cup.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eat shit,” was all Veronica could reply.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you make me. Look, V, she obviously thought it was cute. Maybe later you’ll get a nice text from her and she can sweep you off your feet and out of this shitty job.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica groaned in a way that can only be described as: like a small animal dying.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Veronica,” Betty groaned herself, grabbing her friend by the back of the shirt and pulling her out of the fridge. “She likes you, dude. Please don’t be mad at me. I just knew you’d never make the first move.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Betty, how many times have I told you, I don’t want to ask one of them out until I know which one I have the best chance with?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But V, at the rate you were going, you were never going to ask any of them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica glared at her. She was right, but that doesn’t mean Veronica wanted to hear it. She was just being cautious. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, Veronica thinks it’s perfectly fine.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’s gone this long in her life without them, she can go the rest of it too. But she doesn’t want to. She also doesn’t want to talk to them unless she absolutely has to. But she wants to hold all three of them and love them unconditionally.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And that’s the problem. Veronica hasn’t made a move because she doesn’t want to choose just one. When she thinks about spending time with one of the Heathers, the other two somehow end up tagging along in the daydream. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wants all three of them. But that’s selfish.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Who knows. Not Veronica, obviously. That’s kind of like the whole reason she never made a move. But now Betty has for her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Betty… That little asshole.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica shrugs Betty’s hand off of her and goes back out to the front of the shop. She’s lucky there’s still customers lingering at the tables, or else she would’ve strangled her already.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She takes a quick look at her watch and realizes she’s only half way through her shift.</span>
  <em>
    <span> Fantastic</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she thinks sarcastically. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Three more hours of ignoring my only friend at work. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>After her, surprisingly, tiring shift, Veronica found herself dragging her feet towards the library. She usually doesn’t go on Wednesday, but after Betty’s little stunt, she needs a pick-me-up. And what better than renting a movie she’s seen a hundred times but refuses to </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually</span>
  </em>
  <span> buy? Maybe she’ll rent </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Princess Bride </span>
  </em>
  <span>and spend some time with Martha, too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As she reaches the doors to the library, Veronica takes a deep breath to calm the nerves starting to bubble in her stomach. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stupid, dumb, crush</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She finally gets the courage to walk in and notices that Heather is distracted talking to some blonde girl. That, unfortunately, makes the nerves bubble up even more and Veronica tells herself that it’s fine. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s not</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the dumb gay part of her brain tells her, </span>
  <em>
    <span>because Heather’s smiling and laughing at something she’s saying. You took too long to make your move. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica chances a look at the two while she walks towards the movie racks and notices the blonde girl is playing with the bracelet on Heather’s wrist that isn’t propping her head up. She feels an ache somewhere deep in her body and looks away when she feels her ears start to burn. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Just get your movies and get out. Maybe Coffee Shop Heather will text you. Y’know, if she didn’t completely ignore your number and trash the cup.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She grabs her movies, having memorized where they are with the amount of times she’s rented them, and hesitates heading to the counter. Those two look awfully cozy. She wouldn’t want to disrupt them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Yo, fuck that, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she can hear the voice in her head, that sounds suspiciously like Betty, saying. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She’s making a move on your girl, V. You gotta show her who’s boss.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Somehow, that gives her the courage she needs to walk up to them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Veronica! You’re not usually here until Friday. Bad day at work?” Heather asks, turning her attention to the taller girl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica locks her eyes on Heather, refusing to even glance at the other girl. “Uh, yeah it was really busy today. Morning shifts and whatnot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wow, how eloquent, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she tells herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aw, I’m sorry you had a tough day at work, Ronnie,” she hears from next to her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ronnie? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Only one person other than Martha calls her that…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her head practically snaps to the right and sees— </span>
  <em>
    <span>Heather?!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What the fuck is she doing here? Not that she can’t read, or support the library, or whatever. Still, Veronica has never seen her in here before. Then again, this isn’t her usual library day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Veronica can get too lost in her thoughts, she sees Heather plant her hands on the counter and lift herself up to lean over and kiss the other one on the cheek.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d really appreciate it if you stopped leaving your lunch at home, Love. You know I have a schedule to keep with the garden,” she tells Heather as she drops back down to her feet. Veronica can feel an uncomfortable weight in her words, but she’s not quite sure what Heather’s implying. Heather turns and starts walking out, waving over her shoulder and calling out, “See when you get off! Bye, Veronica, I hope your day gets better! See-ya Saturday!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her ears are </span>
  <em>
    <span>burning</span>
  </em>
  <span> and everything sounds fuzzy. Is it too hot in here? It’s only April, but it feels stifling in the library now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Evil Dead </span>
  </em>
  <span>triple feature and </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Princess Bride</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Odd combo. Your day must’ve really sucked, Veronica.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She turns her attention back to Heather. The fuzziness in her ears has lifted a bit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh? Oh! Yeah, it sucked a lot,” Veronica mumbles back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>God, wait until Betty hears about this.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s silent while Heather scans the movies. As Veronica hands Heather her library card she asks, “So you and Heather, huh? I didn’t know that. That’s… cool.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather laughs and responds with, “Yeah, she’s pretty cute, huh? I’m still trying to figure out what the hell she sees in us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh huh,” Veronica, blindly, agrees. She wants to get out of there as quick as possible before her heart gives out and she gets too lost in her own thoughts. She can already hear her brain screaming, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stupid, stupid, stupid! I can’t believe you thought that either of them could actually like you. You can’t look at a pretty girl and expect her to fall in love with you, Moron. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She squeezes her eyes closed and finally starts to hear Heather in the middle of talking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“— but I’m sure you’ll bring them back Friday when you come in again. Uh, Veronica? Are you good?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes! Fine,” she responds a little too loud and quick. She clears her throat. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just, uh, tired and a little overwhelmed from work, I think. I’ll see you Friday.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay? I’ll see you Friday. Try to relax a little, yeah? Comfort food and a nice warm bath.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica nods and starts heading towards the door. She’s halfway out when Heather yells, “I hope your week gets better!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Un-fucking-likely. </span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’s nearing the end of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn </span>
  </em>
  <span>when Martha gets home. She’s on the couch, sprawled out on her stomach, and Martha can tell something’s wrong. Betty had texted her hours ago warning her that Veronica might be on edge. She told Betty not to meddle. Let Veronica do things herself when she’s ready. No one ever listens to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Martha hears Bruce Campbell’s character say, “Swallow this,” and when Veronica doesn’t say it with him, her frown deepens.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh no,” she starts. “What’s wrong, Ronnie?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica tenses at the name. She huffs and then flips onto her back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Martha, why does God hate me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’d God do this time?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica lifts her legs so Martha can sit, then lays them across her lap.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Two of the Heathers are already dating.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Which ones?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica throws her arm over her eyes and groans like a small dying animal for the second time that day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Farmer’s Market Heather and Library Heather. When I went to check-out the movies, Farmer’s Market Heather leaned over the counter and kissed her on the cheek and called her ‘Love’. I’m gonna die sad and alone, Martha. Wrap me up in the blankets and bury me right here on the couch, because I’m not leaving this apartment ever again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Martha pats her shin and reminds her, “At least there’s Coffee Shop Heather.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica groans again, louder this time. “Betty embarrassed me enough in front of her this morning. It’ll be a miracle if she goes back to the coffee shop tomorrow.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Martha makes a face. “Betty told me it went well… what happened? Did she text and reject you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Worse. She hasn’t texted me at all. God, she probably saw how red my face got and trashed the coffee as soon as she left.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Martha grabs the arm that isn’t over Veronica’s face and pulls her so she’s sitting up. When she’s sitting up enough, Martha wraps her other arm around her and pulls her into a hug. It’s slightly awkward with Veronica being much taller than her, but they’re awkward people. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They stay like that until the movie credits start to roll. Veronica gets up and grabs </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Princess Bride </span>
  </em>
  <span>instead of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Army of Darkness. </span>
  </em>
  <span>As much as she knows Martha would appreciate the pure goofiness of the third </span>
  <em>
    <span>Evil Dead</span>
  </em>
  <span> movie, she could really use the pick-me-up right about now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s not until later, when she’s eating dinner in her room, that Veronica remembers what Heather said at the library. Us? Do they talk about her? </span>
  <em>
    <span>God, I hope it’s nothing bad. </span>
  </em>
  <span>And there goes her appetite. Who needs food? Not Veronica, apparently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She tosses her plate of leftover pasta onto her side table and hears her phone buzz. She’s fully prepared to ignore it, assuming it’s Betty trying to beg for forgiveness, but then, thinks. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What if… No! No way. There’s no way Heather texted.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She decides to ignore it. Until it buzzes again, trying to remind her she has a text, and she grabs it before it stops. She takes a deep breath and looks at the screen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><b>[Unknown Number]:</b> <em><span>“Hey, I would’ve texted sooner, but I’m finally finished working. Pretty cute way of giving a girl your number by the way ;). Not cliche at all. - Heather Chandler (aka the cute girl from the coffee shop)”</span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Holy shit. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Heather actually texted her. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Three Girls, One Phone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>How many lesbians does it take to text a girl?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As much as Heather </span>
  <em>
    <span>loves</span>
  </em>
  <span> trying to become a serious business litigations lawyer, she absolutely cannot stand people. Especially dumb people. The cute, brunette, barista is an exception. The way she almost drops her cup when Heather smiles at her. Or when Heather laughed at a dumb picture Mac sent her and Veronica tripped hearing it, which only made her laugh harder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Veronica isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>dumb. Duke’s told her all about the books she checks-out and they sound pretty boring by Heather’s standards. And Mac’s mentioned once or twice that Veronica is quite knowledgeable with plants and produce. So she isn’t actually dumb, but she sure does some dumb things.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At least, that’s really all she’s seen of her in the coffee shop. But now, Heather’s been talking to her for about two hours and she knows for sure. Veronica is </span>
  <em>
    <span>so dumb</span>
  </em>
  <span> and it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>so cute</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>“God I wish you’d get better taste in movies. Horror movies are trash.”</span></em> <b>:[Heather]</b></p><p> </p><p>
  <b>[Veronica]:</b>
  <span> “</span>
  <em>
    <span>ummmmm?????? excuse you???? i dont take any advice from someone who watched call me by your name and genuinely enjoyed it”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>“That was a beautiful movie. You’d better shut your mouth.”</span></em> <b>:[Heather]</b></p><p> </p><p>
  <b>[Veronica]:</b>
  <span> “</span>
  <em>
    <span>it was literally trash but go off”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“besides my fav genre is psychological thrillers thank you very much”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>“Your typing is trash.”</span></em> <b>:[Heather]</b></p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Seriously though.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Get better taste bitch.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>[Veronica]:</b>
  <span> “</span>
  <em>
    <span>my taste is immaculate”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“im into you arent i”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Huh. That was pretty ballsy for someone who can’t even look Heather in the eye most mornings. This is going to make things a little more interesting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aw, Heather, she’s flirting with you!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jesus fucking Christ! Heather! How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She turns and there’s Mac leaning on the arm of the couch. Reading her texts over her shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, Heather, I’m just excited. When you told us you got Veronica’s number we didn’t believe you,” Mac mumbled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, honestly I thought you’d be the last person to get it,” Duke said from the other side of the couch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, to be fair, Veronica didn’t really give it to me herself. That emo girl she works with gave it to me. But the look on her face when she noticed her number was on my cup was </span>
  <em>
    <span>priceless</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Heather admitted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can only imagine. Y’know I thought I was gonna get her number first, but I think the chance of me getting it at all is ruined now because </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone</span>
  </em>
  <span> had to show up to the library.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was only there because </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone </span>
  </em>
  <span>left her lunch at home and I thought I’d be a good girlfriend and bring it to her,” Mac defended.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You kissed my cheek in front of her!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What, am I supposed to </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> kiss my girlfriend goodbye? Fat chance. I like you too much.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Girls, girls, you’re both pretty,” Heather interrupted, “but I have more pressing matters to attend to.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And she did. Veronica had spam texted her in a panic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><b>[Veronica]:</b> <em><span>“that wasnt a weird thing to say was it?”</span></em></p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“im not trying to make you uncomfortable or anything”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“i just think youre pretty”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“… heather?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“sorry if i made things weird”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“i really dont know how to talk to girls”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Don’t apologize dork. You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. I was just busy.” </span>
  </em>
  <b>:[Heather]</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Roommates and stuff you know.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“So.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You think I’m pretty?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Heather did you just gal pal us? Your own two girlfriends?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Would you stop reading over my shoulder,” Heather snapped. “Of course I’m not gonna tell her we’re all dating yet. She seems way too nervous from just </span>
  <em>
    <span>talking</span>
  </em>
  <span> to me, she’d probably keel over if she were to find out all three of us are in a relationship right now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Babe, you didn’t see how forlorn she looked after Heather left the library. She might honestly be relieved to find out we’re all together </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>want to add her into the mix.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“See, Heather! You should tell her. Relationships only work with honesty,” Mac tried to reason.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will,” Heather insisted, “but only after I know that she’ll be able to process it well. Don’t want to make her short circuit just yet, do we?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather looked back down at her phone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>[Veronica]:</b>
  <em>
    <span> “i get that”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“roommates can be needy when they want to be”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“and yeah youre pretty”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“pretty full of yourself”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Say you’d rather be full of her!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Get away from me, Heather!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>“It’s easy to be full of myself. Have you seen me? I’m hot.”</span></em> <b>:[Heather]</b></p><p> </p><p><b>[Veronica]:</b> <em><span>“youre alright”</span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh yeah? Do ‘alright’ girls make you blush as hard as I do?” </span>
  </em>
  <b>:[Heather]</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p><b>[Veronica]:</b> <em><span>“… shut up”</span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Why don’t you make me?? ;)” </span>
  </em>
  <b>:[Heather]</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Betrayal!” Heather shouted at Duke, who had snatched the phone out of her hand and texted Veronica.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What, it’s an easy shot that you weren’t going to take. I’m doing all three of us a favor.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had a point. While Heather may be the Queen Bitch out of the three of them, her shortest girlfriend was the most brazen. Sure, Heather could scare people into submission with looks and mostly empty threats, but Duke has guts to mean what she says. Her pure nonchalance is part of what drew Heather to her in the first place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The snarky, smart-mouth girl she had met at 15 had yet to change or simmer down in the last 10 years. There was an odd sense of pride that welled in her heart whenever she’d hear something sharp-witted come from the other girl. Plus, it was great to have a girlfriend that would snark her back whenever Mac would be wary that it’d get too mean.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But right now, she really fucking hated her. Heather launched herself at her girlfriend, trying to wrestle the phone from her. Duke tucked the phone to her chest and almost rolled off the couch before Heather could grab her, but was just a second too slow. Right before her knees hit the ground in front of the couch, Heather got an arm around her waist and fell with her to the floor. Just barely missing the coffee table, Heather put all her weight on to Duke's back to hold her down. Unfortunately, the phone was still tucked to her chest and now both of their bodies were keeping it trapped there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Behind her, Heather heard a loud, “Dogpile!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looked back to see Mac, launching herself over the arm of the couch and straight onto the other two. With the new weight and the motion of Mac’s body colliding, they fell into the previously dodged table. Heather’s grip loosened just enough that Duke wiggled out and bolted for the stairs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, Heather! Get back here, you snake ass bitch!” She called out after her, struggling to get out from under her other girlfriend.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But of course, Mac is incredibly strong. And while Heather usually finds her girlfriends muscles </span>
  <em>
    <span>unreasonably </span>
  </em>
  <span>hot, she would much rather make sure Duke isn’t scaring Veronica away with her bold personality. She stops struggling underneath her eventually, and lets her body sink into the rug. Mac sits up, straddling the back of her thighs and mumbling a quick, “Sorry, Honey.” Heather sighs dramatically and feels the blonde start rubbing between her shoulder blades.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re both traitors,” she mumbles into her now crossed arms. “She better not ruin my chance with Veronica.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure she won’t. She may be trying to act all cool, calm, and collected, but she gave me an earful for what happened at the library. Should I clear things up with Ronnie on Saturday?” Mac asked, focusing on a rather tough knot in Heather’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t,” she sighs. “I’d just act like it never happened. Unless she brings it up. Don’t want to make things too confusing without figuring out how to give her a proper rundown. A little bit lower, please?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac moves her hands lower until Heather gives her an affirmation with an almost painful sounding groan. They stay like that until they hear Duke call out, “Is it safe to come down?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll spare you this time, Whore. Now give me my phone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac gets up and sits back on the couch while Heather pushes herself up and Duke comes down the stairs. Heather meets her halfway and reaches for her phone, but Duke moves it away and leans towards the taller girl. She takes in her attempt at puppy dog eyes and dramatically sighs again before giving her girlfriend a kiss. Satisfied, Duke hands her the phone and walks past her to cuddle with Mac. Heather checks her texts to find some new ones from Veronica.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><b>[Veronica]:</b> <em><span>“yeah the farmers market sounds great!! im there every saturday”</span></em></p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“see you at 11?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And, obviously, she has no other choice than to respond with:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It’s a date.” </span>
  </em>
  <b>:[Heather]</b>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I got the next chapter done pretty early, so you get this now as a treat. The next one will be posted Sunday, though.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. How to Flirt With Girls at Libraries</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Veronica can read books, but can she read signs?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Heather Duke isn’t a nervous person. In fact, if you asked anyone who’s talked to her, ‘nervous’ isn’t a word they would ever associate with her. But hiding in the bathroom with her girlfriend's phone and talking to Veronica? She might’ve had a mini panic attack doing that. Heather’s still reeling from the fact that she </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually</span>
  </em>
  <span> set up a date with Veronica. Sure it may have been for her girlfriend, but it was still nerve wracking. She may also be paying more attention to dark corners and crevices, just in case Heather decides to get revenge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’s not nervous. Except that she actually is and, no matter how much she’s denying it to herself, she can’t stop watching the clock. It’s Friday and Veronica should be there in about 20 minutes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather </span>
  <em>
    <span>wants </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be forward and tell her about her girlfriends and the situation they have, but she </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows</span>
  </em>
  <span> Chandler would skin her alive if she scared away Veronica. And Mac would ignore her for god knows how long. As friendly as she is, that woman can hold a grudge. One bad time at the grocery store and now she insists on growing and making everything herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her plan for today is to try and subtly hint at all three of the girls' interest in her. Or at least her and Mac’s interest. Obviously Veronica knows at least one of them is interested in her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’s (totally not nervously) tapping her fingers against the counter when she sees Veronica hesitate through the frosted glass of the door. Her tapping stops when Veronica grabs the door handle and pulls. The bell rings and Heather smiles and calls out, “Hey, Stranger.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica’s face starts to turn pink and she mumbles back a, “Hey,” as she makes her way to the counter. She’s still in her work uniform and smells like freshly brewed coffee and Heather briefly wonders what she smells like when she’s not coming from work. Then she thinks about what shampoo and body wash Veronica probably uses… and </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> leads to her thinking about Veronica in the shower, which is not a thought she should be having right now. Instead, she focuses on taking the movies Veronica checked-out the other day and the book she got two weeks ago and puts them back into the library’s computer system while Veronica wanders around looking for a new book.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather looks at the graphic novel she has tucked under the counter and tries to work up the guts to recommend it to Veronica when she comes back. Her hand is resting on the front cover as she sees Veronica approach through her peripheral.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was quick,” she says as she lifts her head to meet Veronica’s eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not really. I’ve been here for…” Veronica checks her phone, “like 20 minutes already.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh shit, really?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica raises an eyebrow and answers back, “Yeah, you seemed pretty distracted by something under there, so I thought I’d give you some time to do whatever you’re doing. What </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> you doing, by the way?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing,” she answers just a little too quickly. “Just checking something.” Heather notices Veronica’s shoulders fall just a bit so she adds, “I’m holding a book for someone. Just making sure it’s still back here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For 20 minutes?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I might’ve zoned out a bit. What are you gonna do, tell my boss?” She snarks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And get rid of the only cool librarian? Wouldn’t dream of it,”  Veronica answers back. Heather feels her face heat up and when Veronica notices, she tries to backpedal. “Because who else is going to give me good book recommendations? Some old bat that can’t even read the covers on the kid’s books? Fat chance—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather puts her hand on Veronica’s and hears her teeth collide as her mouth snaps shut. She finally takes the new book from Veronica’s hand and scans it without looking away from the taller girl’s bright red face. Heather finally pries her eyes away from Veronica’s and looks at the computer, finally noticing the book Veronica picked: </span>
  <em>
    <span>How to Talk to Girls at Parties </span>
  </em>
  <span>by Neil Gaiman.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good choice,” she tells her as she hands the book back. “You should read </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Graveyard Book</span>
  </em>
  <span> next, if you haven’t already. It’s my favorite book of his.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll keep that in mind for next week.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica turns to start walking away and, not wanting her to leave </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> yet, Heather can’t help but blurt out, “Did your week get any better?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica turns back and answers, “Yeah, actually. It, uh, got better later that night.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah? Something nice happened?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just some really good company. Then again, anytime I’m around people and they </span>
  <em>
    <span>aren’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> yelling at me over a slightly wrong order is good company.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And, because Heather can’t help but say what’s on her mind, she replies with, “That kind of sounds like you got laid.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica’s face gets </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> red </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>fast that Heather thinks she might’ve broken a record. And with the way Veronica is stumbling around for a response, she definitely broke something.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She eventually decides to take mercy on the other girl and tell her, “I was just trying to get a rise out of you, V. Take a deep breath.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica huffs, “That was mean,” and her shoulders raise to her ears.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather shrugs, “It’s not my fault you make it too easy.” Then, just to fluster her more, adds, “Besides, you’re cute when you blush.” And it does exactly what Heather hoped it would: makes Veronica go so red she can almost feel the heat from her face six feet away from her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not looking at Heather, Veronica mumbles, “You’re awful.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather laughs at her distress and Veronica finally looks back up at her, smiling at the sound. With a burst of courage, she takes a step forward and leans over the counter, taking pride in the way the proximity makes Heather instantly stop laughing and go pink. She tilts her head and looks the shorter girl in the eye and tells her, with what little guts she has, “I may be cute when I blush, but you’re always cute.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That knocks the air out of Heather’s lungs and she feels her heart trying to break her sternum with how hard it’s pounding. Blood rushes to her face and she hates that Veronica got her back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This time Veronica laughs. Standing back up, through her laughter, she tells Heather, “You’re right, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> cute when </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> blush!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, you dick. Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to play with a girl’s heart like that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Relax, Heather.</span>
  <em>
    <span> I was only trying to get a rise out of you</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she mocks. Veronica checks her phone again and tells Heather, “I should probably get going. Don’t want to take too much time out of your </span>
  <em>
    <span>busy</span>
  </em>
  <span> schedule.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Again, as she turns to leave, Heather calls out, “Wait!” When Veronica turns back this time, Heather asks, “What are you doing tomorrow?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica hesitates before answering. “I’m, uh, going to the farmer’s market. I go every Saturday.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I’ll see you there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She smiles. “Maybe,” then she turns and finally leaves.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather leans back in her chair and sighs. Grabbing her phone, she texts Mac:</span>
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>“You’re not gonna fucking believe what just happened”</span></em> <b>:[Duke]</b></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Putting her phone back down, she looks at the graphic novel she had under the counter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>How to Talk to Girls at Parties</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Great minds think alike, huh?</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>We stan Neil Gaiman in this house</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. It’s a Date</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It’s a date :)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Veronica was freaking the fuck out. She’s got a date with Heather Chandler in 12 hours and she’s trying to do literally anything else to not think about it. It’s not working, obviously. She’s spent the last hour choosing an outfit, then rethinking it, choosing a different outfit, then rethinking </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> outfit, and so on and so forth. Before that she read through her newest book, </span>
  <em>
    <span>twice</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The book… </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her first read through was more of a look through because she couldn’t, for the life of her, focus on anything other than her interaction with Heather at the library. That then led to Veronica’s thoughts wandering.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(And that might’ve led to her hand wandering, too. Thank god Martha was at JD’s getting her oil changed.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Part of her is proud for making Heather blush like that, but another part of her feels guilty. Heather has a girlfriend, who she very obviously loves, and Veronica has a date with another girl tomorrow. Today has just made her feel even more torn about her feelings for the three girls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now that her and Chandler have been texting, she’s falling for her even more. The last two days, Veronica has actually talked to her at the coffee shop in the mornings. </span>
  <em>
    <span>More</span>
  </em>
  <span> than just asking if she’s getting her usual. This morning when she handed her coffee to her, Heather had looked her right in the eye and told her, “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Babe.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica spent the next half hour after that back in the fridge trying to calm down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And their texts! She doesn’t think she’s ever smiled at her phone as much as she has in the last two days. Chandler knows exactly what to say to her to make her heart skip a beat. It almost feels like she’s got a team telling her what to say to win Veronica over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then there’s the other two Heathers. She didn’t mean to flirt with Library Heather like that. She’s honestly not even sure how she did it without passing out, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>god</span>
  </em>
  <span> it was satisfying. And the fact that she flirted back with Veronica? That just filled her heart even more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now, she’s terrified of tomorrow. Not only is she going on a date with Chandler, but Betty used the last of her jam so she kinda </span>
  <em>
    <span>has</span>
  </em>
  <span> to go to Heather’s booth to get more, and Library Heather said she might see her there. All three of them, in the same place with her. The thought makes her stomach turn with nerves. What if she accidentally flirts with the other two while Chandler is with her? Or if they flirt with her?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This should be an easy decision! In fact, there shouldn’t even be a decision. Two of them are already in a relationship </span>
  <em>
    <span>with each other</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Only one of the girls Veronica is attracted to is single </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> going on a date with her tomorrow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But holy shit she can’t stop thinking about all three of them together.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She needs to calm down before she sends herself into a panic attack. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I just need to sleep</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Veronica thinks. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If I sleep now, it’ll be the morning a lot quicker and I can get all of this shit over and done with.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Checking the time, she realizes it’s almost 12:30 and that she’s spent the last hour and a half internally freaking out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ignoring the raging nerves in her stomach, Veronica gets ready for bed. And by “gets ready for bed” she means: lays in bed and overthinks until she inevitably falls asleep. God she hopes tomorrow goes well.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p><span>Heather McNamara </span><em><span>loves</span></em><span> her job. Sure it initially started as her not wanting to go back to the grocery store she and the girls </span><em><span>used</span></em><span> to go to, but now she couldn’t imagine not having her garden and selling her homegrown produce. Living in her little cottage in the woods, on the edge of town, with her two girlfriends, and being almost entirely self sufficient is </span><em><span>so</span></em> <em><span>fulfilling</span></em><span>. Growing up in a wealthy household and relying on strangers made Heather feel incapable. Especially after she moved into her first apartment with Chandler.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Being two college students with no real skills in taking care of themselves, but a lot of Daddy’s money, led to a lot of arguments that first year. It really wasn’t until Duke moved in the next year that they had learned how to </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>take care of themselves. Their relationship probably wouldn’t have lasted without her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chores weren’t done when they should’ve been, no one ever cooked (not that her or Chandler really knew how to cook), and they hardly paid their bills on time. It was stressful and messy and without Heather Duke’s impeccable organization skills, Mac would’ve eventually had a mental breakdown.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, they’re all three in a better place now. They have designated chores, set schedules, the whole ‘responsible adult’ shebang. She’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>thriving</span>
  </em>
  <span> with this routine they’ve had in place for the last three years since she started going to the farmer’s market. That’s why, when things deviate from the routine, she gets… uncomfortable.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather doesn’t mind having her girlfriends go to the farmer’s market with her. In fact, she’s been </span>
  <em>
    <span>begging</span>
  </em>
  <span> them to come with her. At least to help her set up her booth for the day. After that, they can go off to wherever they want. But now that both of them are finally going after so long, she’s feeling something she can’t quite name.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s not jealousy. She’s not a jealous person. A little territorial over her girlfriends? Yes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was fine with Chandler going off on her date with Veronica. Hopefully they swing by the booth and she can see the both of them. Duke tagging along to help her man the booth for the day? It’s a deviation she isn’t quite sure of yet. Especially because she can feel the begrudging energy Heather’s putting out towards it. Mac told her she doesn’t have to help, but Heather told her about how she alluded that she was going to be there to Veronica, and now she feels like she has to.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now, here she is: sitting at her booth on a surprisingly drizzly day, with her girlfriend who obviously doesn’t want to be there, waiting to hopefully see her other girlfriend (and potential future girlfriend) for a handful of minutes before they continue through the market.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather loves her job. But right now she’d really rather be home.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re gonna scare all your customers away with that frown, Sweetheart.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac side-eyes her girlfriend. “I’d have to actually have customers first to scare them away, Love,” she replies.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Valid point. Why am I here again?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sighs, “Because you told Veronica that you would be. You know, you can go home if you want. I doubt her and Heather are even coming over here today.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Duke puts an arm around her and pulls her in close and asks, “And leave you here all by your lonesome? What kind of a girlfriend would I be?” She presses a kiss to the side of her head before adding, “Besides, I see them a couple booths down that way,” and pointing to her left.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Duke was right. Slowly, but surely, Heather and Veronica were making their way down to her booth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is it just me,” Duke starts, “ or do they look incredibly awkward?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was right about that, too. If it wasn’t for the fact that they know how naturally awkward Veronica is, she’d think that the date was going terrible. Veronica was walking with her hands shoved into the pockets of her denim jacket and her shoulders practically up to her ears. The only indication that she wasn’t actually miserable was the blush on her face. Heather on the other hand </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>look miserable. She was alternating between scowling up at the rain clouds and down at the puddles in front of them. Mac </span>
  <em>
    <span>told</span>
  </em>
  <span> her to wear a pair of boots or sneakers, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>no,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Heather just has to wear heels anytime she’s out in public.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She watches as Chandler stumbles trying to avoid a big puddle. Mac’s surprised by Veronica having quick enough reflexes to catch Heather at the waist and steady her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s lucky she caught Heather. None of us would’ve heard the end of it if she hadn’t,” she hears Duke say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chandler’s face flushes and, from this distance, she can barely make out Veronica asking if she’s okay, one hand sliding to her back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aw, she made Heather blush,” Mac giggles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two eventually make their way to her booth, and she greets them enthusiastically. “Hi, Ronnie! Heather!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Heather and… Heather? I didn’t know you two knew each other?” Veronica greets back, nodding at Mac and Chandler.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chandler speaks up, “Oh, yeah. Mac and I are childhood friends. We met in 3rd grade and have been best friends ever since.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about you, Heather?” Veronica asks Duke.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“High school. They were a grade above me so I met them </span>
  <em>
    <span>officially </span>
  </em>
  <span>when I transferred over my sophomore year. Chandler and I technically met at a mandatory after school tutoring thing the year before, though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> needed tutoring?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What can I say, I’m not good with science,” Duke shrugs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about you?” Veronica asks, turning to Chandler. “What subject were you failing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather scoffs, “I wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>failing </span>
  </em>
  <span>anything. I don’t fail—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“English—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And math. She can’t focus for shit,” the other two girls interrupt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chandler glares at them both, and Mac feels her face flush with embarrassment. She notices Veronica’s hand slip into Chandler’s. She stops glaring at them and instead looks down at their hands, cheeks turning pink.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac decides to try and lighten the mood by asking, “So, can I get anything for you, Ronnie?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Yeah, actually. Can I get two jars of your raspberry jam? Betty keeps bugging me about it since she ate all of mine.” She hears Duke bag the jars while Veronica is pulling out her wallet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She puts her hand on Veronica’s and tells her, “Don’t worry about it, Ronnie. It’s a treat this week,” with a wink.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica’s face goes red and she glances at Chandler nervously. Heather just rolls her eyes at Mac and starts to tug Veronica towards another booth. “Thanks for the jam, Babes, but we have other booths to see.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica waves awkwardly, calling out, “Uh, bye, guys. See you next week!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“See you later, Ronnie!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have fun.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“God she’s so cute,” Mac sighs, watching them walk away.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t freak out. Don’t freak out. Don’t freak out.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That’s all Veronica’s brain is screaming at her right now. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Heather’s holding her hand right now.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She’s trying to breathe calmly, but she can feel her ears and cheeks burning and she just knows she probably looks like she’s having a panic attack. Chancing a look at Heather, she asks, “So, we’ve pretty much walked around the entire farmer’s market and it’s only like 1… Wanna, I don’t know, get some lunch?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chandler looks at her and a smile finally starts to break on her face. “Sure,” she agrees, “but I’m paying. </span>
  <em>
    <span>And</span>
  </em>
  <span> I get to choose where we go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica smiles back, “Deal.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They make their way to Heather’s car and Veronica notices that, of course, Heather drives a sports car. It looks so clean and, if it wasn’t for the small dents and chips towards the bottom, she’d think it was brand new. At this point, she’s not surprised by Heather’s proclivity to look like a VIP. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica snickers and that makes Heather ask, “What’s so funny?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing,” she responds, getting settled in Heather’s car. “It's just a very </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> car.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you dare disrespect my baby, Sawyer. She’s a goddamn trooper.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that, Heather starts driving them to lunch. It’s a fairly silent car ride. The radio is playing some Top 20 song, but it’s turned so low that it’s just barely audible. Veronica spends almost the entire time watching her, wondering where she’s planning on taking them. They’re both under dressed to be going to Sherwood’s finest restaurants, but Veronica wouldn’t put it past her to take them to one anyway. Plus, Heather doesn’t really seem like the type to do fast food.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t really care where we go,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thinks. </span>
  <em>
    <span>As long as we’re hanging out, I’ll gladly go anywhere with her.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop staring at me, creep,” Heather eventually breaks the silence, “and get out of my car.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica looks away and realizes that they’ve finally made it to their destination. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, maybe I care a little. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She looks at the building in front of her and she feels her face scrunch slightly in confusion. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not that I don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>love</span>
  </em>
  <span> my job, but, um, why are we here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Usually I only come here for the coffee, but you guys also sell pastries and sandwiches and I’ve never tried them before. I want to see if they’re any good.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Prepare to be disappointed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That bad, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica makes a so-so gesture. “Eh, they’re alright, I guess. Nothing to write home about really.” She thinks about it more for a bit. “Although, Betty had to cover a shift this afternoon. I could probably convince her to make her </span>
  <em>
    <span>amazing</span>
  </em>
  <span> grilled cheeses.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather raises an eyebrow and asks, “Grilled cheese?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The grilled cheese on the menu is made with only two cheeses, but when Betty gets in the mood for it she’ll put a slice of all five cheeses we have and we’ll eat them after we leave for the day.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That sounds like constipation waiting to happen.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That makes Veronica laugh loud enough to annoy the few customers ahead of them. “It comes with a cup of tomato soup if that helps?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hm, a little. You enjoy your block of cheese sandwich, I’m gonna get something that doesn’t sound like a six year olds dream dinner.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When it’s their turn to order, Betty takes over the register. “Hey, Lovebirds, what can I get you today? Let me guess, your usual drinks?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” Heather answers, pulling out her card, “just a strawberry danish and whatever extreme dairy sandwich Veronica’s been gushing about.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Betty takes the card and rings them up, then moves to the kitchen to specially make Veronica’s sandwich and soup while Veronica and Heather make their way to a table by a window.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lunch goes surprisingly smoothly, even if Heather is completely disgusted by Veronica’s atrocious sandwich choice. Conversation runs freely and comfortably and Veronica sees Betty making lewd gestures whenever she’s behind Heather. So, it’s not much of a surprise when Heather asks if she wants to keep hanging out and go to her place after lunch. It’s even less of a surprise when Veronica agrees and follows her back out to her car.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>They eventually get to Heather’s home, and Veronica’s gotta say, it’s not at all what she was expecting from Heather. A cute little cottage style home about a mile into the woods with an old pickup truck and a Jeep parked outside and smoke coming out of the chimney.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t take you as an outdoorsy type,” Veronica jokes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh trust me, I’m not,” Heather answers back, unlocking the door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The front door swings open and they walk right into the living room where Veronica see’s two </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> familiar faces on the couch. She should’ve expected this, honestly. The universe already hates her so goddamn much, why not make all three Heathers not only friends, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>roommates</span>
  </em>
  <span>, too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Veronica,” Heather starts, “these are my girlfriends: Heather McNamara and Heather Duke.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looks back at Veronica and sees she looks like she’s going to either throw up or pass out. Veronica doesn’t say </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything, </span>
  </em>
  <span>just blinks at them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Veronica?” Heather tries to get her attention.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Girl… friends?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fuck you, Universe.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you’re all good, you might get a new chapter on Wednesday.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The One You’ve All Been Waiting For</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Communication is key.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Head empty. No thoughts. Heather just told her </span>
  <em>
    <span>all three of them are dating</span>
  </em>
  <span> and her mind quite literally went completely blank. Veronica knows she should say something, </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> really, but she can’t. All she can do is stare at them, dumbly. She’s aware of everything going on right now, but her brain can’t form words for her mouth to say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac and Duke stand up and walk over to them, sharing a concerned look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, Veronica,” Mac starts, “are you okay?” She puts a hand on Veronica’s shoulder and starts to lead her to the couch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You were right, Babe. We </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> break her,” she vaguely hears Duke tell Chandler.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s not broken,” Mac glares at Duke, rubbing Veronica’s upper back, “she’s processing. Heather, I thought you were going to wait longer to tell her?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chandler shrugs and mumbles, “I didn’t want to wait. She looked so nervous around all three of us, so I wanted her to realize she’s got nothing to worry about.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Duke walks back to the couch and sits on Veronica’s other side. “V, you alright? Do you need anything?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica shakes her head, then bends forward, pressing her head to her knees. She tries focusing on Heather’s hand on her back, closing her eyes when she starts to relax. When she finally feels her heart start beating again, her body relaxes as much as it can. Slowly, thoughts start forming in her head again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac’s hand doesn’t stop once, but now she feels Duke’s hand resting on her shoulder. Veronica slowly sits back up, eyes readjusting to the light. She looks around at all three girls, taking in their various concerned expressions, and sighs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So,” she rasps, “you’re telling me that all three of you have been dating this whole time?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She gets back three confirmations, then takes in a deep breath. “Oh, thank god,” she sighs, letting herself fall back onto the couch. “I’ve been so worried that I was being a terrible person by actively trying to flirt with all three of you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She hears Chandler mutter, “I’d hardly consider it flirting,” while Mac assures her, “You’re not! We’ve been trying to figure out how to let you in on this for months.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Especially after Wednesday happened. I actually wanted to tell you about it yesterday at the library, but then we started flirting and I kinda forgot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica’s face heats up at that so she changes the subject, “So, wait, how long have you guys been together?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chandler walks over and sits on the coffee table in front of them, answering Veronica first. “Well, Mac and I have been together since we were 17/18—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And Heather and </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> started dating a couple of months after she moved in with us. So 19—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Duke cuts in, pointing at the other two, “ Seven years,” she points at herself and Mac, “five years,” then finally points at herself and Chandler, “four and a half years. Approximately. I’m sure the actual dates for everyone are written down somewhere.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s… a long time for you all.” Veronica swallows nervously and looks at all three of them before asking, “Are you sure you want to add me in? I feel like I’d be intruding on something that’s been set in place for so long. I’m sure you all have your ways of doing things that work perfectly for three people. I don’t want to—”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chandler interrupts her, grabbing Veronica’s hands, “You won’t. We wouldn’t ask you to be a part of this if we didn’t mean it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Veronica, we would be honored if you’d join our relationship,” Mac adds, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Duke leans her head on Veronica and asks, surprisingly sweet, “Please?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica looks at all three girls and feels tears prick her eyes. They’re all looking back at her with their best puppy dog eyes. Through a watery smile and another sigh of relief, Veronica answers back, “Okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She hears three various cheers before they all drag her into a big hug; Chandler pushing herself off the coffee table and on to her now </span>
  <em>
    <span>three</span>
  </em>
  <span> girlfriends. If Veronica thought her heart was full before, it’s absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>bursting </span>
  </em>
  <span>now. She can’t help the tears starting to overfill her eyes, or the way her body’s starting to shake, but she's just so happy that she finds that she doesn’t really care.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac pulls away first, her hands going to Veronica’s face. “Ronnie? Are you okay? What’s wrong?” The other two Heathers pull away with matching concern, shooting each other looks before looking back at Veronica.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sucks in a deep breath and shoves the heels of her hands into her eyes, trying to physically hold in the tears trying to escape. As she shakily exhales, she tells them, “I was just so worried I was doing the wrong thing. I’m okay, I promise. I just feel so </span>
  <em>
    <span>relieved</span>
  </em>
  <span> now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They all swarm her again, wrapping themselves around Veronica just a little bit tighter than before. It feels like they stay like that for hours, until Chandler pulls away and complains about how sore their positioning is making her. Mac pulls back next, huffing, then goes to lay back on the couch, pulling both Veronica and Chandler to lay curled up on either side of her. Duke worms her way to lay on top of Mac with Veronica and Chandler’s arms around her back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they’re laying there, Veronica thinks to herself, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah, this is exactly what I’ve imagined, </span>
  </em>
  <span>as she starts to doze off surrounded by her three new girlfriends.</span>
  <em>
    <span> Betty is going to have a field day with this info</span>
  </em>
  <span>. With the fire that was going in the fireplace slowly dying out, the last thing Veronica feels before she fully drifts off to sleep is the combined warmth of the other three girls and a firm kiss on the top of her head from Mac.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Okay, so maybe the universe and God don’t hate her as much as she had initially thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They can still eat shit, though.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I’m not even gonna pretend that I didn’t forget to update today. I totally did. See you all Sunday. The next one is my favorite so far</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Friends are the Worst</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>What happens when you try to tell your three best friends about your three new girlfriends</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When she wakes up, Heather McNamara is </span>
  <em>
    <span>sweating.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She didn’t realize that she had even fallen asleep, but now her head feels fuzzy, her body feels sticky with sweat, and her mouth is dry. Mac can already feel the crick in her neck and the pins and needles attacking both arms. She looks at her girlfriends (god she still can’t believe Veronica said yes) and takes in how they are. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Duke is still resting on her front, between her legs, fast asleep. One hand gripping Chandler’s arm wedged between them. Veronica’s head is nestled nicely under her own, mouth parted slightly. She has one arm wrapped around herself and the other wrapped around Duke. Then there’s Chandler. She looks at her first girlfriend and notices that, even though her eyes are closed, she isn’t sleeping. Her leg and arm are both slung over Duke’s small frame, hand grabbing onto Veronica’s jacket. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mac realizes she’s trying to hold herself up. Chandler had the unfortunate position on the edge of the couch. She takes the arm wrapped around her and moves to brace her hand onto Chandler’s lower back. Using what muscles she can, with her arm still being half asleep and the odd position she’s in, and pulls her tighter against herself and Duke. She feels Chandler tilt her head back and look up at her, so she leans back herself and whispers, “Good morning.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Heather just groans and then shoves her face into Mac’s neck. She feels the vibration against her neck when Chandler mumbles, “We should wake them up. I feel like I’m going to fall at any moment.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but they’re so cute.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chandler lifts her head and looks at the other two. “Veronica’s drooling on you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mac cringes, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ick.</span>
  </em>
  <span> That’s less cute.” She starts twirling a piece of Veronica’s hair, thinking about how to go about waking her up. Chandler decides to do it for her, snaking her hand under Veronica’s jacket and feeling for the space right below her ribs. When she finds the area, she curls her hand into a loose fist, then digs two of her knuckles in and wiggles them side to side. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Veronica’s eyes shoot open, and her entire body starts to jerk and flail. She eventually jerks so hard that she ends up shoving Chandler off the couch and kicking both Mac and Duke. Chandler hits the ground with an audible, “Oof,” and Duke pushes herself up, eyes wide and breathing out a, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>What in the fuck—</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chandler sits up and glares at Veronica, who has thankfully stopped flailing and is now trying to catch her breath. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ow,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she snaps, “Veronica, what the fuck was that?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What the fuck was </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!” Veronica snaps back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I wanted to wake you up. If I had known you’d jerk around like an epileptic, I wouldn’t have done it that way.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What the fuck did you think was gonna happen? Did you think I was gonna wake up like a Disney Princess?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mac interrupts the squabble with, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Alright</span>
  </em>
  <span>, we’re all awake. What do you guys want to do?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Veronica slips her phone out of the inside pocket of her jacket and checks the time. It’s almost 5 in the evening and she lets out a low whistle at the worried texts she has from Martha, Betty, and (surprisingly) JD.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, as much as I would love to stay, my friends are worrying about me. So, I should probably get home.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mac gives her puppy dog eyes and Chandler groans as she stands up, “Can’t you just give them a call? Let them know you’re not dead. Your other two girlfriends haven’t gotten to really spend time with you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She doesn’t have to stay,” Mac defends. “Veronica if you have to get going, I can take you home.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?! No! </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>the one that’s supposed to be on a date with her today. If you want to take Veronica home, you can ask her out on a date yourself.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You weren’t even the one that asked her out,” Duke cuts in.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You weren’t?” Veronica asks, looking back between the girls.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> was the one to ask.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You stole my phone!” Heather snapped. Veronica starts laughing and Heather glares at her. “What are you laughing at, Sawyer?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You act all big and tough, but your girlfriend had to ask me out for you? How embarrassing,” she snorts.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chandler’s face turns red and she nearly shrieks, “She stole my phone!” Mac and Duke start chuckling with Veronica and Heather decides she’s had enough of their teasing. “Whatever! Do you want a ride home or not?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Veronica wraps Heather up in a hug as her laughter dies off. “I would appreciate a ride home, yes.” Heather looks at her other girlfriends over Veronica’s shoulder and sees them making kissy faces at them. She pulls away and goes to get her keys. “Come on then, let’s make your friends stop worrying.” When she looks back at her girlfriends, she watches Mac and Duke wrapped around Veronica. Mac presses a kiss to her cheek and Duke has her face pressed into her neck.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After they finally let go of her, she reaches for Veronica’s closest hand and calls out, “I’ll be back later, Babes. Love you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mac puts an arm around Duke and says, “Bye, Ronnie! See you soon,” as they start walking out the door. She blows them both a kiss with her free hand, then waves as Chandler pulls her to the car.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When they pull up in front of her apartment, Heather pulls her into a hug before she can even fully unbuckle her seatbelt. Veronica wraps her arms around Heather and buries her face into her shoulder. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I had a great time, Veronica,” she feels Heather mumble against her throat. The feeling sends a shiver through her body.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She pulls away and rests her forehead against her girlfriends (she still can't believe it) and tells her, “I had a great time too,” with a small smile on her face. Heather’s cheeks start to flush pink and Veronica musters up the courage to ask, “Can I kiss you now?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Heather breathes out a, “God yes,” and before it’s fully out, Veronica’s lips are on her own. One of them sighs into the kiss and she isn’t quite sure who it was. Veronica’s hand comes up to caress her face and she takes that as an approval to deepen the kiss a little. She threads her fingers in Veronica’s hair while their kiss heats up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She’s about to try and convince Veronica to move into the back seat when someone yells outside the car, “Hey V, stop sucking face already! The girls want to make sure you’re alright.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Veronica jumps back and growls out, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Jason</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” She sighs and then leans back against the headrest of her seat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Your friends can fuck off.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Veronica laughs at that and mumbles, “They sure can.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Heather side eyes her. She takes a minute to enjoy how flushed and flustered Veronica looks. “Go convince your friends you’re okay, Sawyer. I’m not going anywhere,” she tells her, softly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Veronica smiles at her, then sighs and gets out of her car. She leans back in and tells Heather, “Text me when you get back home.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Heather smiles at her as she closes the door, then starts to pull away from the apartment.  Veronica watches her drive away with a smile on her face and her hands in her jacket pockets. She sighs, then turns to face JD, her smile dropping into a glare.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” JD asks, trying to act like he didn’t do anything.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck you.” Veronica walks past him into the apartment complex.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>? But you love me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>love</span>
  </em>
  <span> making out with my girlfriend and not being interrupted, Dickweed.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A grin slowly spreads on JD’s face and when Veronica sees it, she turns away and focuses on trying to manifest the elevator coming faster.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Girlfriend</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” JD’s voice cracks. “So the date definitely went well, then.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Go away, I’m not telling you shit.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The elevator doors finally open and Veronica walks in, turns, plants her foot right on JD’s stomach, and pushes him back as far as she can. She pulls her foot back in and starts spamming the button for her floor, other hand flipping JD off. The doors finally close before he can get back to them and Veronica relaxes against the back wall, sighing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If this is how JD’s gonna be, Betty’s going to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>way</span>
  </em>
  <span> more insufferable. She spends the short elevator ride trying to mentally prepare herself for the barrage of questions and teasing she knows she’s going to get. The elevator doors open and Veronica walks out to the hall. She hears a door slam open and when she looks towards the noise, she finds JD standing a little down the hall, panting, looking almost feral. It feels like the next moment happens in slow motion. She sees JD start to run towards her. Her eyes grow wide and she turns and starts running to her apartment. God she hopes the door is unlocked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When she finally gets to her apartment door, her hand reaches out for the doorknob. She almost grabs it, but then she feels JD’s body slam into her abdomen, taking her to the ground. The wind gets knocked out of her when she hits the ground. He pulls back and sits on Veronica’s shins, calling out for Betty. Betty and Martha come out into the hall and he hears Martha gasp and Betty start cackling.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“JD! What did you do to her?” Martha asks rushing over to Veronica’s side. “You were supposed to just wait outside for her, not attack her.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She </span>
  <em>
    <span>kicked</span>
  </em>
  <span> me,” JD defends, “then tried to run away from me. She deserved this.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Veronica is still on the floor gasping and trying to catch her breath. Martha starts going through her jacket pockets for her inhaler. She eventually realizes that, </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Veronica doesn’t have it with her. Betty is still leaning against the doorframe, laughing. Martha stands up and walks back into the apartment, pushing Betty out fully into the hall and hissing at both her and JD, “Pick up Veronica and take her to the couch, you heathens. She can’t breath.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Martha comes back with Veronica’s inhaler, JD and Betty have got her sitting up on the couch. She’s kind of breathing again, but it’s staggered and short. Martha uncaps the inhaler and helps Veronica get it into her mouth. She sits next to Veronica and rubs her back while she sucks in the medicinal spray. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After Veronica can finally breathe again, she leans back and sighs. Betty and JD at least have the brains to look ashamed. Martha glares at them one last time before asking Veronica, “How did your date go, Ronnie?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah V, how’d it go?” Betty asks. Martha glares at her again and she sheepishly looks away.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It went well,” Veronica rasps. “We wandered around the farmer’s market for a bit, then she took me to get lunch at the coffee shop. She surprisingly wanted to hang out longer after lunch, even though Betty kept making faces at us while we were eating.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Martha glares at Betty again. “They were laughing! It’s not like I was interrupting them,” Betty tries to defend.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So you went to her place?” JD asks, trying to get the conversation back on track. “Did you guys bone? You were quite cozy in her car when she dropped you off.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Veronica’s face goes red, “Well, uh, actually—”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You guys fucked!?” Betty gasps.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Veronica goes even more red and stutters around a reply. “No! What?! No—”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Betty, JD, and Veronica all start talking over each other; JD and Betty howling and teasing Veronica while she tries desperately to explain what happened. Martha gets up and wanders into the kitchen, grabbing a beer from the fridge. She pops the cap off and chugs about half of it before Veronica bursts out, “They’re all three girlfriends!” Martha chokes on the beer halfway down her throat and starts coughing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They all look at Veronica, mouths agape. Her face is absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>burning</span>
  </em>
  <span> right now and she wishes she could sink completely into the couch and disappear. Martha speaks first, “I’m… sorry… what?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Veronica shoves her face into her hands and groans, “The Heathers. They’re all three in a polyamorous relationship. Have been for </span>
  <em>
    <span>years</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A smile slowly starts to creep on Betty’s face, with snickers starting to come out. Eventually she can’t hold back the laughter and starts cackling again, trying to speak between her laughing. “You’re telling me… you like </span>
  <em>
    <span>three</span>
  </em>
  <span> girls… and— oh my god— they’re already in an </span>
  <em>
    <span>established relationship</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Veronica shoves her shoulders to her ears. “How was I supposed to know?! It’s not like I really saw any of them together.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Betty’s still laughing and doesn’t stop until Martha throws (and hits) her with an oven mitt. She notices JD looks confused instead of laughing with Betty.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait,” he starts slowly. “You and Heather were making out in her car—” JD gets interrupted by Betty wolf whistling, then getting hit by </span>
  <em>
    <span>another</span>
  </em>
  <span> oven mitt, “—and when we were coming inside, you called her your girlfriend. Are you…” he trails off. Suddenly he gasps. “No way. No </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking</span>
  </em>
  <span> way.” It’s JD’s turn to start laughing while the others, excluding Veronica, look confused. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, JD? You good there?” Betty asks. Veronica’s face somehow gets even more red.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You guys,” he says through his laughter, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Veronica joined a polyamorous relationship.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Happy Sunday. I’ll see you next week, you yearning gays.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Girlfriends Are Better (But Can be the Worst Too)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Things are better when you have three (3) supportive girlfriends to turn too. Until they too start teasing you.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Other than JD hysterically laughing, it was silent. Betty and Martha were still letting the new information settle in their heads. Veronica wants to disappear <em> so bad </em>. Her face hurts from how red it is and she feels sick to her stomach.</p><p> </p><p>“JD,” she starts, slowly, “shut the <em> fuck </em> up.” His laughter dies off and Veronica continues, standing up and heading to her room, “I’m not going to sit here and let you guys tease me over this. You can come talk to me when you want to actually hear how my day went <em> without </em> judging it.”</p><p> </p><p>With that, Veronica slams the door to her room closed and falls face first into her bed. When she finally turns her head to breathe, she pulls her phone out of her jacket pocket. She’s got a new message from Chandler, just letting her know that she made it home alright. Veronica feels a little too emotionally drained to try and hold a conversation, so she just sends back a heart and a peace sign emoji.</p><p> </p><p>There’s a quiet knock on her door and, judging by how light and polite it is, she assumes it’s Martha. “You can come in,” she sighs. When the door opens, she’s surprised to see Betty slowly and awkwardly walking into the room. Betty pulls Veronica’s desk chair over towards the bed and sits down.</p><p> </p><p>They’re both silent, until Betty finally breaks the silence. “I’m sorry,” she mumbles.</p><p> </p><p>“For?” Veronica asks.</p><p> </p><p>She’s quiet again before she answers, “I’m sorry for being mean. We should’ve just listened to how your date went and <em> then </em> teased you <em> after </em> you told us everything.”</p><p> </p><p>Veronica flips on to her back, then sits up, and swings her legs over the side of her bed. She wants to be pissed at Betty, and she <em> kind of </em>is, but she knows that they’re just trying to get a rise out of her like they always do. Normally it doesn’t bother her much, but there’s something about them poking fun towards this that’s really gotten to her.</p><p> </p><p>Betty looks like she’s about to accept that Veronica is pissed at her and leave the room. Veronica sighs and her body releases some of it’s tension. She tells her calmly, “I appreciate your apology.” Betty perks up at Veronica actually speaking to her.</p><p> </p><p>“I’d like to actually hear about how everything went after you left the coffee shop. Girlfriend, huh?” A small smile starts on Veronica’s face and she launches into telling Betty everything that’s happened since they last saw each other.</p><p> </p><p>“So, you’re in a relationship with all three of them now?” Betty asks when Veronica is done.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. It’s honestly a <em> huge </em> relief. I’ve been so torn up on the inside about wanting to be with all three of them, and feeling like I had to choose. It honestly hadn’t even crossed my mind that being with all three of them was a <em> possibility </em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m glad you’re happy, V. Like, genuinely.”</p><p> </p><p>Veronica sighs and falls back on to the bed. “That means a lot, Betts. Like, <em> a lot </em> a lot.” She lets out a deep yawn and Betty takes that as her cue to leave.</p><p> </p><p>Standing up, Betty tells her, “I can give Martha and JD the <em> CliffsNotes </em> version if you’d like.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nah,” she replies through another yawn. “I’ll tell Martha later. JD, however, doesn’t deserve shit. He doesn’t get to know anything now.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, that’s fair. I’m probably gonna head home, I’ll see you at work on Monday.”</p><p> </p><p>Veronica lifts her hand in a pseudo wave while she hears Betty leave. Her hand drops back to her stomach and she yawns once more. <em> Today’s been pretty draining </em>, she thinks as she adjusts so she’s fully laying in her bed. It’s not even 7 yet and she’s already tired enough to sleep for the night.</p><p> </p><p>Her phone starts to buzz from it’s resting spot on her bed. She’s got a handful of texts; some from Chandler and the rest from two unknown numbers that she assumes are Mac and Duke. Veronica knows that she should <em> probably </em> look at them and reply, but she can’t quite muster up the energy to. Instead, she unlocks her phone, taps Chandler’s number, then puts her phone on speaker while it rings.</p><p> </p><p>Heather eventually answers with, “Hey you.” A smile grows on Veronica’s face at the sound of her voice.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” she answers back.</p><p> </p><p>She can hear Mac in the background asking if Heather’s talking to her and her smile gets bigger. “Heather, go away. Veronica called <em> me </em>.” Veronica can hear what sounds like Chandler trying to push Mac away from her.</p><p> </p><p>“Actually, I called because I didn’t really feel like texting all three of you separately. Figured if I talked to one of you, you’d relay the conversation back to the other two,” Veronica interrupts the bickering on the other line.</p><p> </p><p>Heather pauses for a beat, then asks, “Did we not add you into the groupchat?”</p><p> </p><p>Veronica’s eyebrows furrow. “The what?”</p><p> </p><p>“The groupchat. Goddammit, Heather was supposed to add you in to it. She was the one that started it because she didn’t feel like texting us separately. Ugh!” Veronica hears her yell for, she’s assuming, Duke and Veronica has to push the phone away a bit from how loud Chandler’s voice gets.</p><p> </p><p>Now, Chandler and Duke are bickering and Veronica has to interrupt them <em> again </em> . “ <em> Oh my god. </em>Heather, it’s not that important.”</p><p> </p><p>“If you say so.” She can almost see Heather’s shrug that went along with that. “Anyway, not to sound like a bitch, but was there a specific reason you called?”</p><p> </p><p>There’s a muffled “<em> Heather! That’s rude </em>,” from Mac and Veronica can’t help but laugh. “No particular reason, really. I might just like the sound of your voices.”</p><p> </p><p>She hears another muffled reply, this time it’s a “<em> Gay, </em> ” from Duke, then a shriek and “ <em> Was that the fucking </em> remote <em> , Heather? </em>” Veronica snickers and Heather asks, “How were your annoying friends? Did they hound you like you thought they would?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yeah. A little too much, honestly. I actually yelled at them for it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Damn, Sawyer. I would love to see you yell at someone. I bet you’re hot when you’re angry.”</p><p> </p><p>Veronica scoffs as her face heats up, “If by hot you mean awkward, then yeah it’s totally hot. It’s <em> so hot </em> when I get all red in the face and have to hold back frustrated tears.”</p><p> </p><p>The phone goes quiet, before Duke speaks out, “<em> Well shit, Veronica. </em>”</p><p> </p><p>She starts laughing at their reactions, “It’s cool, guys. It was meant as a joke.”</p><p> </p><p>“So that doesn’t actually happen?” Mac asks.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, no it for sure does. But I hardly get angry like that, so I don’t mind joking about it.” The girls on the other end are silent again. “Uh, anyway, I’ve kinda shut myself away in my room now. So…” Veronica tries to lighten the mood.</p><p> </p><p>“So, you’re alone, huh?” Chandler asks after a beat. Veronica can hear the smirk in her voice and the other two Heathers saying “<em> Oh my god, </em> ” and “ <em> Heather! </em>” She can’t help but laugh at them.<br/><br/></p><hr/><p> </p><p>They talk like that for the next hour or so, only stopping once the Heathers realize that Veronica has fallen asleep on them. Mac notices it first, the quiet, subtle snores coming from the phone. Chandler is in the middle of talking about something that happened at work the previous day, when Mac puts a hand on her wrist, lowering her phone.</p><p> </p><p>“But it’s whatever, he— hey! Heather!”</p><p> </p><p>“Shush,” she interrupts. “I think Veronica is sleeping.” Duke lifts her head off Chandler’s shoulder and they all silently watch the phone. That’s when the other two finally notice Veronica isn’t saying anything.</p><p> </p><p>“Damn, Babe. I think you put her to sleep with your boring work story,” Duke teases.</p><p> </p><p>“I did not,” Chandler scoffs, then looks at Mac. “Right?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure she was just tired, Honey. Veronica said she doesn’t usually get as upset as she did with her friends, so that probably just wore her out,” Mac assures her.</p><p> </p><p>“I still say it was the story,” Duke mumbles. Mac leans over Chandler and mean-mugs her.</p><p> </p><p>“We should let her sleep.” Mac takes the phone from Heather’s hand and ends the call, then sets it on the coffee table. When she leans back onto her girlfriends, she sighs, “I feel like a huge weight has been lifted.”</p><p> </p><p>“I feel that,” Duke breathes out at the same time Chandler asks, “What do you mean?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, there was a part of me that was worried, you know? Like, I was scared Veronica wouldn’t want to be a part of this,” Mac explains.</p><p> </p><p>Chandler looks a little confused, so Duke tries to explain more for her. “You said so yourself the other day, Veronica seems so nervous just talking to <em> one </em> of us. Don’t want to overwhelm her or anything by straight up putting her in a new relationship with not just <em> one </em> person, but <em> three. </em>”</p><p> </p><p>That seems to click in Chandler’s mind, and she says, “Huh. I guess I was a little worried it’d be too much for her, but we knew she was interested in all of us, so I don’t think it really worried me <em> that </em> much.”</p><p> </p><p>“Really? You weren’t really worried about it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I mean I <em> was </em> like a little. But if she didn’t want to be with all three of us because she felt it was too much, I just kind of figured we’d start off slow and she could just date one of us first.”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh huh,” Duke starts, eyes narrowing, “and who do you think she would’ve chosen to date.”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh, me. Obviously,” Chandler scoffs.</p><p> </p><p>“What?!” Mac nearly yells, face screwing up is disbelief. “No offense, Heather, but it wouldn’t have been you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, it would’ve been me,” Duke laughs as she stands up. She heads to the kitchen and the other two share a look before following her. Dukes halfway in the fridge trying to decide what to drink when they get in the room.</p><p> </p><p>“Uh, no?” Chandler says. “<em> I </em> was the one that went on a date with her today. <em> And </em> we made out in my car when I dropped her off.”</p><p> </p><p>Duke rolls her eyes and stands back up. “<em> I </em>was the one that set that up. You can’t keep taking credit for going on a date with Veronica when you weren’t even the one to ask her.”</p><p> </p><p>Chandler starts to stutter around a reply when Mac says, “She’s got a point, Honey. <em> You </em> didn’t ask Veronica out.”</p><p> </p><p>Duke laughs victoriously while Chandler yells, “Who’s side are you on?!”</p><p> </p><p>“My own. Sorry, Love, but I don’t think she would’ve chosen you either.” Duke stops laughing and narrows her eyes at Mac while Chandler mocking laughs back at her.</p><p> </p><p>“And why do you think that?”</p><p> </p><p>Mac walks over to the counter and digs around in a drawer until she finds a notepad and a pen. “Well, let’s think about this logically.” She tears out three pages from the notepad and writes their names on the tops of them. “We’ll start with you, Honey. You’ve told us that Veronica could barely look at you at the coffee shop, let alone say more than three words.” Mac starts writing everything she says down. “That means Veronica was quite <em> intimidated </em>by you. Not to mention, you didn’t ask her out yourself—“</p><p> </p><p>“Stop bringing that up!”</p><p> </p><p>“—plus, you’re a bottom. Veronica seems like the type of person to enjoy giving <em> and </em> receiving so she wouldn’t pick someone who obviously wouldn’t reciprocate.” As she moves to the next paper, Chandler crosses her arms and huffs.</p><p> </p><p>“You know, I could top if I wanted to.”</p><p> </p><p>“Honey, not with those <em> claws </em> you call nails. But don’t worry, they’re great if you’re into scratching.”</p><p> </p><p>“Which we are,” Duke adds, smirking.</p><p> </p><p>“Now, onto you, Love. You may have asked Veronica out, <em> but, </em> and I mean this in the <em> nicest </em> way possible, you can be a bit too brash and forward.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?!”</p><p> </p><p>Mac sheepishly looks at her and shrugs. “Sorry, but Veronica doesn’t seem like she’d be able to handle that well. At least, not at first.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ha ha! You’re too confident!” Chandler mocks. Duke shoves her in retaliation, then looks back at Mac.</p><p> </p><p>“How is that a bad thing?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not!” Mac tries to defend. “It’s just, to people who don’t know you very well, it comes off as arrogant and cocky. And Ronnie <em> hates </em> people who are arrogant and cocky. She told me it’s a turn off once at the farmer’s market.”</p><p> </p><p>Duke crosses her arms and a pout paints her face. “So why do you think it would’ve been you?”</p><p> </p><p>Mac grabs the paper with her name and starts writing. “Well, Veronica and I seem to have the calmest conversations. She’s always seemed fairly at ease talking to me. I have a very calming personality.”</p><p> </p><p>“Veronica and I have calm conversations too. At least, once her initial nerves settle.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Exactly </em> . Veronica is <em> always </em> calm when she gets to my booth. But you two wouldn’t know that because you’d actually have to <em> be </em> at the farmer’s market.” Her eyes narrow at them. “Besides, I’m sweet. Who wouldn’t want to date me?” Duke and Chandler roll their eyes and scoff. Mac turns around and looks at them, one eyebrow raised in a challenge. “Oh yeah? What are your pet names for me?”</p><p> </p><p>They both blurt out, “Sweetheart” and “Baby” and Mac just looks at them smugly. Chandler starts to grumble to herself and Duke just rolls her eyes again and tells her, “That doesn’t prove anything.”</p><p> </p><p>Mac rests her head in her hands and looks up at them. “It proves I’m a little sweetie. It also proves that I’m the most realistic choice.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ugh, I guess. I still say Heather would be the last choice.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh definitely.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey!” Chandler shouts. “You guys keep bullying me and I’m gonna go to my other girlfriend.” Suddenly she gasps, “<em> I can do that now </em>… I finally have someone else to spend time with when you’re being jerks.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, too bad Veronica’s asleep right now,” Duke reminds her.</p><p> </p><p>“Aw, fuck.”</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Who would you choose? I’d probably choose Mac or Duke. See you all next Sunday.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Veronica’s Second First Date</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sometimes you just gotta help your cottagecore girlfriend with her farmer’s market booth and be mean to your friends at the same time.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It’s been about a week since Veronica joined the Heathers relationship. It’s been an odd adjustment, but she couldn’t be happier. They’ve all been texting constantly (after Veronica was </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally</span>
  </em>
  <span> added into their couple groupchat) and Veronica really wonders what she was so nervous about. The Heathers pretty much spend the entire time insulting each other and sending memes. They’re nowhere </span>
  <em>
    <span>near</span>
  </em>
  <span> as intimidating as she first thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’s so much less nervous around them, she’s actually started labeling Heather’s coffee cups with ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Girlfriend &lt;3</span>
  </em>
  <span>’. Betty might tease her about it, but the look on Heather’s face the first time she noticed made it totally worth it. (However, when Heather reached over the counter and pulled her into a goodbye kiss she had to spend 30 minutes face first in the fridge.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And Veronica might’ve started visiting the library a little more often to people-watch with Heather Duke. She might’ve also started bringing a coffee with her after she jokingly complained that Chandler’s the only one that ever gets coffee. The kiss on the cheek Veronica gets for the coffee leaves her face red until she’s almost home.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now, it’s Saturday again and Veronica promised Mac she’d help her with her booth today. Heather told her she can do her usual lap through the farmer’s market with her friends first, but Veronica insisted that she’d help the entire time. Since the last week was so rainy, and hardly anyone showed up, this week was </span>
  <em>
    <span>packed</span>
  </em>
  <span> with people getting the products they missed the previous week.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To keep Veronica less stressed with her first time </span>
  <em>
    <span>working</span>
  </em>
  <span> a booth, Heather made her bag the orders while she handled the people and the money. When the rush eventually slowed down, around noon, Veronica slumped forward on her stool; head softly hitting the counter in front of her. Two arms snaked their way around her waist and she felt Heather’s weight against her back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If I had realized how packed this place was gonna be, I would’ve suggested you coming next week instead,” Heather mumbled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica sat up and turned in her seat to face her. “I just see this as all the more reason I should’ve been here today.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather waves her hand dismissively. “I could’ve handled it. I’ve done it before.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but you seemed pretty stressed from it. And I don’t mind helping you. I was gonna be here anyway.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather just looks at her for a bit before a small smile forms on her face and she says, “You’re such a dear, Veronica Sawyer.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her face turns bright red and she insists that it was no big deal, just her being a decent girlfriend. Heather just smiles at her even more before gently holding her face and placing a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. Veronica’s face burns an even deeper red, so she pulls Heather close and buries her face into her shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, get a room, Lesbians.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their heads snap towards the voice and Veronica groans once she realizes who it is. Betty’s leaning on the booth grinning at them with Martha next to her and JD a little bit behind; slushies in hand. Turning towards them, Veronica asks, “What do you want?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jeez V, is that anyway to talk to a customer? Or to the people who brought you slushies?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Again, what do you want?” Veronica’s eyes narrow before looking at the drink tray in JD’s hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jam,” Martha answers. “She ate all of her’s again. And, we brought you two slushies. Figured it’d be a nice treat to help you get through the next two hours until the market closes.” She pulls a blue raspberry slushie out of the tray and hands it to Veronica before grabbing another one and handing it to Heather. “Sorry, we didn’t really know what flavor to get you. But you can’t really go wrong with cherry, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, uh, you didn’t have to get me one,” Heather mumbles as she takes the cup, her cheeks turning pink. Veronica leans over and looks through the jars before sitting back up and looking Betty dead in the eye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s no raspberry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Heather asks, turning to look herself. Veronica grabs her wrist and looks at her, an eyebrow raising. Heather’s brow furrows, then she realizes what Veronica’s doing. She looks back at the jars and huffs, pretending to be annoyed. “Huh, there isn’t.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All we have is grapefruit,” Veronica tells her, straight faced, drinking her slushie.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Betty’s face scrunches in disgust and she looks at Heather. “Really? Just grapefruit? Is Veronica just trying to fuck with me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica commends Heather’s acting skills, because she looks genuinely apologetic when she tells her, “She’s telling the truth. All we have is grapefruit jam. I’m sorry, but I can give a jar to Ronnie when I make my next batch?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah, I’ll take a jar of grapefruit, I guess. I can wait until next week to get the raspberry.” Heather trades her a jar for a couple dollar bills, then thanks Betty for her business and the slushie. Betty and JD turn to go to another booth and Veronica grabs Martha before she can join them. She leans down and grabs a jar, then shoves it in one of the bags she’s carrying. “That’s for us,” she tells Martha. “Don’t let Betty know you have it. She’s been insufferable at work the last couple of days so she doesn’t deserve it.” Martha just sighs and rolls her eyes before waving and following the other two.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was mean of you to do to your friend, Dear.” Heather swings an arm around her shoulder then starts drinking her own slushie.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Like I said, she deserves it,” she says, leaning into her girlfriends embrace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure the girls will love hearing about that.” Mac snickers. Veronica huffs out a laugh, then sets her drink down and looks at her girlfriend. “What?” Heather asks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing,” Veronica answers, “you’re just pretty.” Mac’s face turns pink and she starts beaming at Veronica.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re pretty, too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re prettier,” Veronica insists leaning even more towards her girlfriend, staring at her lips. Their noses brush before her eyes close and their lips connect. If Veronica thought kissing Chandler was amazing, kissing McNamara was </span>
  <em>
    <span>almost</span>
  </em>
  <span> better. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They kiss slowly for a bit, until Heather remembers she’s still </span>
  <em>
    <span>technically </span>
  </em>
  <span>in the middle of working. She pulls back so just their foreheads are touching and mumbles, “I’m supposed to be working right now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So work,” Veronica tells her, leaning in to kiss her again. Heather gives her one last peck then softly pushes her away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop distracting me then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop being so easy to distract,” Veronica counters. Heather’s eyes narrow and she sticks her tongue out at Veronica. The next two hours pass pretty quickly, and soon they’re on their way to the Heathers’ cottage.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they walk inside, the other two are nowhere to be seen. Veronica asks where they are as they make their way to the couch. “No idea,” Heather answers. “Every Saturday they try to make themselves busy so they don’t have to help at the market.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica’s brow furrows. “That’s… kind of rude. They just leave you to do it yourself?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. But honestly, I kind of prefer it that way. Don’t tell Heather I told you this, but I wasn’t really all that excited that she tagged along last week.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That throws Veronica off a bit. Heather McNamara seems like the type of person who would jump at the opportunity to spend </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> time with her girlfriends. “Really?” Heather shrugs and nods. “Huh. How come?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather hums and takes a minute to figure out how to put it. “Well, we all have things that we like doing by ourselves, right?” Veronica nods. “I guess this is just one of those things that I like doing by myself. The girls have very little interest in getting dirty, which is funny considering Chandler used to love bugs and playing in the mud when we were kids, so I don’t really expect them to want to help with the garden. They’re even less likely to help with the booth.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why’s that? It’s not like it’s hard.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, think about what they do for work.” Heather made a great point. Duke works at the library doing basically the same thing Mac does on Saturday, just with books. And Chandler… okay so Veronica still isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>entirely</span>
  </em>
  <span> sure what she does, but she knows it involves dealing with people and sitting at a desk a lot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh, I never thought of it like that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Heather was </span>
  <em>
    <span>miserable</span>
  </em>
  <span> last week. Her bad vibe was throwing mine off.” As she kicks her feet up on the coffee table, Heather Duke walks through the door. “Hey, Love! We were just talking about you!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica’s face turns pink as Duke raises an eyebrow at them. “Oh yeah? What about me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ronnie wanted to know why you and Heather don’t help at the farmer’s market.” Veronica’s face turns more pink and she sinks into the couch a bit more. Heather sits down on her other side and swings her legs over onto Veronica and Mac’s laps.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, because it’s boring,” she groans. “I already spend five days a week sitting at a desk and dealing with dumb questions.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then why were you there last week?” Veronica asks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because you were going to be there.” Duke says plainly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica’s face heats up again, “But I’m there every week. Why choose last week?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And let those two be the only ones that got to see you? No fuckin’ way.” Veronica feels like it’s a competition between them to see who can make her go red the most.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I came over </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span> last week, though.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t know that was gonna happen. Should’ve assumed it though, Heather’s a horny person. If Mac and I hadn’t already been here she probably would’ve tried to have sex with you.” The nonchalant way Heather says that makes Veronica’s whole body heat up. She refuses to look at the other two, and when the front door slams open and Chandler stomps through Veronica feels the heat grow hotter and she refuses to look at anything other than the TV in front of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If I have to see another scummy business douche treat me like I don’t know the goddamn law I’m gonna commit a war crime,” Chandler immediately starts complaining. When she notices Veronica, her gaze softens, then gets confused. “What’s wrong with her?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Duke shrugs and Mac tells her, “Heather keeps making her blush.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What did you say to—” Chandler cuts herself off, “You know what, I don’t care.” She makes her way over to the couch and sits herself right on Veronica’s lap, being careful of Duke’s legs already there, then nestles her head on her shoulder and pulls Heather and Heather to wrap themselves around her and Veronica. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luckily, for Veronica, the longer they stay like that, the more her blush and the heat filling her body subside. She eventually relaxes and wraps her arms around Heather, pulling her in just a little bit tighter. They’re all pretty content cuddled up the way they are, and Veronica thinks she might fall asleep with them again. That is, until someone speaks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Veronica,” Duke breaks the silence, “can you help us settle a debate?” </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Veronica definitely chose Mac. Chandler pouts for the rest of the night while Duke teases her about it nonstop. See you next Sunday for a hot and fresh new chapter.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Blowing Off Steam</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Chandler has a really shitty day, but Mac makes it better.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi I’m taking advantage of my M rating. Nothing too raunchy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Heather’s attitude in the mornings has gotten more positive. She used to dread going into work and being treated like she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She still feels like that, but that feeling has lessened in the last two weeks. Now she looks forward to the mornings. She looks forward to her coffee stops.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This morning was no different than the previous ones in the last two weeks since Veronica’s relationship with the Heathers started. Heather came in, got her coffee and smiled at the “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Girlfriend &lt;3</span>
  </em>
  <span>” written on the cup, grabbed the front of Veronica’s apron and pulled her into a kiss, and listened to Veronica’s “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Heather! You’re not supposed to kiss me while I’m on the clock!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Suffice it to say, it was business as usual. Mac would be almost proud with how routine it was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Because Veronica’s mood has also gotten more positive since the relationship started (and it’s technically a part of her job) she lingers at the counter with Heather before telling her to have a good day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So it’s not technically Veronica’s fault when her day goes to shit. She does feel a little jinxed, though.<br/><br/></span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span><br/>Coming home in the middle of the day for a “lunch break” was the only way Heather knew to make it better. Having Mac’s head between her thighs and her fingers digging into her hips was more productive than literally fistfighting that stupid, douchey, opposing lawyer. Her therapist should be proud; she’s fucking instead of fighting. Heather knows Mac’s going to want to talk about what’s bothering her when they’re finished, so she’s half tempted to be bratty and draw it out until her allotted lunch time is over, but she knows she needs to actually talk it out, too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A particularly </span>
  <em>
    <span>right</span>
  </em>
  <span> stroke of Mac’s tongue has Heather arching more and Mac tightens her grip to hold her back down and Heather can feel the bruises forming on her hips. She can also feel the dirt from Mac’s hands sticking to her skin, but that’s what she gets for dragging her out of the garden and not letting her wash her hands first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, the option to be a brat is taken from her. She’s so close when Mac stops and lifts her head. She groans and tightens her grip on Mac’s hair, trying to move her back so she can finish. Her girlfriend leans back, easily fighting against Heather, and takes one of the hands on her hip and untangles the hand on the back of her head. Mac weaves their fingers together and rests them on Heather’s thigh propped on her shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather can already tell where this is gonna go so she groans out “No,” before her girlfriend can say anything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean no?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean no. I don’t want to talk about it right now, Heather.” She knows she’s being difficult and she planned on talking about it anyway, but it was going to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>after</span>
  </em>
  <span> she was thoroughly fucked. Heather definitely isn’t waiting until after she “talks about her feelings” to have an orgasm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know it’ll make you feel better if you talk about it,” Mac reasons.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What will make me </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel better</span>
  </em>
  <span> is getting to have the orgasm you interrupted for </span>
  <em>
    <span>talking</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac sits back a bit and just looks at her. “Would it really make you feel better to just cum and then go back to work?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looks Heather right in the eyes and tells her, “Too bad.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather's eyebrows shoot up and her jaw clenches. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>What?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she grounds out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac slips her legs off her shoulders and starts to stand up. “I’m not going to make you cum until you talk about what’s bothering you. But you don’t want to talk, and I’m not going to make you. So…” She steps over Heather and walks into the kitchen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather is left on the couch in disbelief. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How dare she? </span>
  </em>
  <span>She knows that Mac knows her well enough to know just how close Heather was. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That fucking bitch</span>
  </em>
  <span>. All because she doesn’t want to talk? “You’re really just gonna leave me like this?” Heather calls out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep,” Mac calls back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What if I just finish by myself? I don’t exactly </span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> you to have an orgasm.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You won’t.” That pisses her off even more. Not because Mac doesn’t think she’ll finish the job herself, but because she’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>right</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The whole reason Heather came home to get fucked was because she’s too mad to do it herself. Mac appears in the doorway, drying her hands with a rag. She’s focused on getting the dirt under her nails when she speaks again. “All you have to do is tell me what’s got you so fired up, Honey. That’s all you gotta do and then you can cum.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather huffs and crosses her arms and legs. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> doesn’t want to talk about it right now. Heather knows that once she starts complaining, she won’t stop, and now she </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> wants to just have an orgasm. So talking is the last thing she wants to do. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac makes her way over to the couch, tossing the rag on the coffee table. She plops down right next to Heather and just eyes her, one eyebrow raising in a silent question. Heather holds her stare for about a minute before her eyes roll up and she groans, “Fine! Fucking hell, I’ll talk about it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac’s face lights up and she turns more towards Heather, giving her undivided attention.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s that stupid fucking Kurt Kelly. That douche keeps trying to come in to </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> office and act like I’m misinterpreting the evidence to make his client look guilty. He even had the </span>
  <em>
    <span>audacity</span>
  </em>
  <span> to say it’s because I’m a woman, and women always “take things the wrong way”. How fucking dare he?! It’s not my fault the business he’s defending is just as scummy as he is. They make </span>
  <em>
    <span>themselves</span>
  </em>
  <span> look bad,” Heather finally lets it all out. When she’s done ranting and raving, she groans and tilts her head back to stare at the ceiling. “I want to punch him in his dumb fucking face so hard, Baby, you don’t understand.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry he’s giving you such a hard time, Honey. Can’t you just lock him out of your office?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wish,” Heather sighs. “If he knows about a certain piece of evidence I have and he wants to look at it, he has every legal right to get a copy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac looks away, eyebrows furrowing in thought. “There’s gotta be a way to keep him physically away from you. There’s a secretary at the firm right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, a couple.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can you get one of them to play middleman for you? That way you don’t have to actually deal with him.” Her hand lands on Heather’s thigh in a comforting manner.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather thinks about it for a bit. “Make it so he has to stay in the lobby? I doubt he’d listen but I can try I guess.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“See? Was that so hard,” Mac teases, her hand slipping just a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little</span>
  </em>
  <span> bit higher on her thigh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather rolls her eyes, then uncrosses her legs. “Ugh, whatever.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac leans her face into her girlfriend’s neck, leaving small kisses as her hand slowly moves higher up her thigh. “Would it make you feel better if you rapid fire insult him right now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather arches and her eyes close, “I can think of a thousand other things to make me feel better than thinking of that dickweed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah?” Mac asks smugly. “Enlighten me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Heather’s 20 minutes late getting back to work from “lunch”, no one says anything about the bruises peeking out from her shirt collar.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather McNamara </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> finishes tending to the garden when Duke and Veronica arrive; hair pulled back and covered in dirt. She grabs her basket and jogs up to the front door to greet them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Duke says as she leans in for a kiss. “What are you still doing out here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Heather stopped by during lunch,” she answers back, gesturing to the hickies on her neck. Duke just raises an eyebrow, then rolls her eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course she did. Told you Heather’s a horndog,” she calls over her shoulder at Veronica.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather opens the door for them and warns them, “She had a kind of shitty day today, so go easy on her, please?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah, she still hasn’t fully gotten a taste of her own medicine from high school.” Mac’s face gets serious; eyebrows meeting and smile dropping. Duke looks back at her as she heads to the couch. “I won’t give her too much shit, I promise,” she tells her sincerely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather turns and looks at Veronica, “Hi.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hi,” she answers back, smiling. Heather leans up to kiss her and when she pulls back, Veronica’s eyes are still closed. She lets out a short laugh and Veronica pulls her back in for another kiss.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Get a room,” Duke calls out, looking for something to watch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe we will,” Mac calls back, still facing away from her. “Maybe I’ll take Veronica upstairs and have my way with her.” Veronica's eyes grow wide and her face turns red. She looks back and forth between the two girlfriends.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather Duke finally looks at them, “That’s not fair. You and Heather already had sex earlier today, if anything it’s mine and Veronica’s turn.” Veronica starts sputtering, trying to find the words to interject, but she’s too flustered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather and Heather look at each other from across the room. To Veronica, it looks like they come to some sort of nonverbal agreement. She can’t see Mac’s face, but she can see the devious smile grow on Duke’s, and she knows that Mac has a similar look. Heather stands up from the couch, the TV already forgotten, and saunters over to the other two. “Isn’t that right, Veronica? It’s our turn.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No way,” Mac interrupts, wrapping her arms around Veronica’s neck and pressing herself into her side. “You told </span>
  <em>
    <span>us</span>
  </em>
  <span> to get a room, so that’s what we’ll do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Again,” Duke reminds, “you and Heather already had your turn.” If Veronica hadn’t felt like The Human Torch with the heat rushing through her body, she could’ve probably been able to make a “Mom said it’s my turn,” joke.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Duke stretches up on her toes and her lips attach to one side of Veronica’s collarbone while Mac starts pressing kisses onto the other side of her neck. She lets out a shaky breath and her knees feel like they’ll give out soon. Before things get too intense, the front door swings open and Heather walks in. The other two Heathers pause and look past Veronica at her. “What are you two… you know what, fuck it. Why am I always late to these things?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chandler drops her stuff by the door and makes her way over, making sure to stay behind Veronica. She can feel the full body blush Veronica has through both of their clothes. When Veronica squeaks out a “Help,” Heather can’t help but snicker.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh I’ll help,” she assures her. “Just not you.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hate to do this after ending the chapter like that, buuut... I’m taking a short break. Meaning, I’m not going to post next Sunday, but the Sunday after that. The last week and a half were unusually busy for me so I got like no writing done. My motivation has dipped too so I’m going to wait until it starts coming back.</p><p>You should never try and force inspiration, it’ll only get you to write things you don’t like.</p><p>Take care all, I will see you in two weeks</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. When Worlds Collide</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>What happens when friends and partners meet?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Enjoy these 2,500+ words.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After they had thoroughly flustered Veronica, they all found themselves on the couch, watching whatever movie Veronica had rented from the library. Chandler wasn’t really paying attention; it was some sci-fi movie that she had been outvoted on. Instead, she was focused on trying to subtly distract all three of her girlfriends in one way or another. She’s already been threatened to be banned from the room, but she can’t help it. The movie is so </span>
  <em>
    <span>boring</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sitting there, Heather realizes she deserves a night out. She doesn’t have to work the day after tomorrow; she should get drunk. And it can count as their first date with all four of them together. She brings it up to Mac later that night while Duke drops Veronica off at home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That sounds great, Honey! We haven’t gone to a bar in a hot minute.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, and with the week I’ve had dealing with stupid fucking Kurt Kelly, I fucking deserve it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She asks Veronica about it the next morning when she gets her daily coffee. “Drinking, huh?” Veronica asks, handing the cup to her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s a great way to blow off some steam. Besides, you never truly know someone until you’ve seen them drunk.” Her friend butts in. Heather shoots a glare her way, but she looks unfazed. Veronica swats at her without looking away from her girlfriend. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What time do you want to go tonight?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather thinks for a bit before answering. “Well, bars don’t really pick up any traction until around 10, so the girls and I will come and get you around 9/9:30?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That sounds good to me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can this invitation be extended to us too?” Betty asks, eyes shifting between Veronica and Heather. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And just who is ‘us’?” Heather asks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me, Martha, and JD. We’re Veronica's best friends, of course.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re, unfortunately, my only friends,” Veronica grumbles under her breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s supposed to be a date. If I remember correctly, I have three girlfriends and you aren’t one of them,” Heather glares.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh come on Heather,” Betty whines. “You’re gonna have to meet the friends eventually. Why not just get it over and done with now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, I don’t associate with losers.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then why are you dating Veronica?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Veronica interrupts. “I’m not a loser! And Betty’s right, Heather, you’re gonna have to meet my friends eventually. Might as well get it over and done with.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A pout starts to form on her face. “But Veronicaaaa, it’s supposed to be a </span>
  <em>
    <span>date</span>
  </em>
  <span>. All four of us together and drinking.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica rolls her eyes, then reaches across the counter and grabs her hand. “Babe, we have so many other days we can go on dates. Just let them come this once? I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather narrows her eyes, leaning towards Veronica. A smirk starts to grow on her face. “You’ll make it up to me, huh? Do I get to choose what you do to make it up to me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica’s face only turns a </span>
  <em>
    <span>slight</span>
  </em>
  <span> pink. Hm, not as strong of a reaction she was hoping for. Veronica leans towards her in response. “It would only be fair if you got to choose.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, god, stop!” Betty shouts in disgust. “No eye-fucking allowed in the shop. You have your coffee, now leave, please. Before you two fuck on the counter.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That draws in the attention of the few people loitering in the coffee shop and Veronica turns bright red. “Don’t worry, the fucking’s for later,” Heather tells Betty. She gets a cackle in response and winks at Veronica, then turns around and leaves. She gets halfway to her car before she realizes she didn’t give Veronica a goodbye kiss like she always does. Heather’s half tempted to turn back around and get her kiss. But that was such a good exit line, she doesn’t want to ruin it by walking back in. After a mental debate, she decides to swing by the library and get a kiss from Duke.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of Heather’s day passes too slowly for her liking. She finds herself watching the clock more than actually looking over her case files; excitement bubbling deep in her stomach.<br/><br/></span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span><br/>When they finally get to the bar, it’s only moderately busy. Veronica and the Heathers are there first, Veronica’s friends insisting they’ll meet them later so they can get some time to themselves first. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, just </span>
  <em>
    <span>how</span>
  </em>
  <span> drunk are we planning on getting tonight?” Veronica asks when they get their first drinks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s a good question.” Duke tells her. She looks over at Chandler and asks, “How shitty do we want to feel in the morning?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chandler thinks for a bit, then decides, “Moderately bad. Enough to sleep in, but not enough to feel like dying.” Duke shoots Veronica a “</span>
  <em>
    <span>There’s your answer,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” look. Mac rolls her eyes and then nudges Veronica.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not getting too drunk, Ronnie. I still have to work in the morning. You’re more than welcome to try and match them drink-for-drink, though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah, I’m sure their ‘drunk’ is my blackout.” She takes a sip of her vodka soda, then looks back at the other two and realizes they’re already almost done with their drinks. “Oh, you weren’t lying about getting that drunk, huh.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to need it to deal with your annoying friends,” Chandler insists.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know they’re not too bad. Betty was the one that gave you my number. If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t be here right now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Which one is Betty, again?” Mac asks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The emo one,” Chandler butts in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That makes Veronica choke on her drink. “Oh my god, she’s not emo,” she gasps out when she’s finally done choking and laughing at the same time. “Betty’s the taller one with dyed hair. She’s the one that loves your jam so much.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Chandler gets up to get refills, Betty, Martha, and JD finally arrive. By the time she gets back, JD has taken her seat next to Veronica. “Oh look, the Loser Squad is finally here,” she announces. “Oi, Trench Coat! You’re in my spot!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>JD lifts an eyebrow at her and doesn’t move, just holds her stare. Chandler’s eyes narrow, but she doesn’t say anything else. They lock into a silent battle, speaking only with their eyes. How they can already read each other, Veronica has no idea, but they all sit and watch their mental battle. JD’s eyes subtly shift to Veronica and Chandler’s eyebrows furrow, then raise almost to her hairline. A smirk grows on her face as her eyes shift to Veronica too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before she knows it, Chandler plops herself down right on Veronica’s lap; legs crossed and arms wrapped around her shoulders. Veronica’s hands settle on her waist and her face flushes pink.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Mac breaks the silence, “we’re all here now. How has everyone’s days been?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“‘How’s your day’? That’s what you’re going with?” Duke snorts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You got something better?” Mac mumbles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How about a drinking game to get know each other?” Betty suggests.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chandler groans, leaning back into Veronica. “What are we back in college now?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, we </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> graduate this last year.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, what?” Chandler sits up and leans against the table, eyes locked on Betty. “What do you mean you guys </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> graduated last year?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Exactly that?” She answers. She leans to the side to try and look at Veronica from around Heather, eyebrows pulling together in confusion. “V, do they not know how old we are?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh,” Veronica stutters. “I don’t think it’s ever really come up in conversation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chandler does her best to turn around and look at Veronica while still sitting on her lap. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>How young are you, Sawyer?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um, 22? Almost 23.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we finished college this last school year. I’m really surprised Veronica hasn’t brought it up yet.” Betty tells her, then mumbles mostly to herself, “She never shuts up about getting a degree she’ll never get to use.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re only </span>
  <em>
    <span>22</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!” Chandler nearly shrieks, completely ignoring Betty.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica jumps at the volume of her voice. “Uh, yeah?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Holy shit… You’re a fucking baby.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Duke’s face screws up in confusion, “Heather you’re only three years older than her.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>A baby</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she whispers. If it hadn’t been for how flushed Chandler’s face was, that would’ve been what clued Veronica in on just how drunk she was already.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <span><br/>They eventually decide that maybe they </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> play a couple rounds of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Never Have I Ever</span>
  </em>
  <span> to get to know each other better. Of course, the game can never be played without somehow deviating from the original questions asked or turning into a game of “</span>
  <em>
    <span>What have you done sexually</span>
  </em>
  <span>”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chandler, still in Veronica’s lap, blurts out, “What about pegging?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Martha nearly chokes on her drink as Betty asks, “What about it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Any one of you fuckers ever done it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not that I know of. Any of you ever do it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, but I want to.” Mac mumbles, setting her drink on the table. When she looks back up, everyone is staring at her. “What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What did you just say?” Chandler asks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I want to peg a man,” Mac says nonchalantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you a lesbian?” Betty asks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah? And?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their stares switch from Mac, to each other. For the first time during the conversation, JD speaks up. “Interesting.” Veronica’s eyes narrow at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s so interesting about it?” Veronica doesn’t trust anything that’s about to come out of his mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing,” he answers, taking a sip of his beer. “Just that I would be down to get pegged.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac’s face lights up and her leg starts to bounce. “Really?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he answers plainly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac looks over at her girlfriends and Chandler says, “Fuck no,” as soon as they make eye contact.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?! Why not?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re not fucking Mr. Reddit over here. I don’t want the grease from his hair anywhere near us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There won’t be any feelings,” JD tries to reason. “We’re not gonna, like, kiss or anything. It would just be her pounding my ass.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“None of my girlfriends are gonna fuck you, Jesse James.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Betty decides to add to the conversation. “Veronica’s already had sex with him, though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chandler chokes on her drink while Veronica’s face turns a deep red and the other two Heathers screech out, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>What?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” A couple people at the surrounding tables turn their attention to them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she can finally breathe again, Chandler chokes out, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m sorry, whom?! What the fuck do you mean?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone looks to Veronica, waiting for her reply. She’s refusing to look up from her drink. She risks a glance up to glare at Betty, but she’s surprised to see that she looks a little regretful. Veronica takes in a deep breath and sighs out, “We were 17. It just kind of happened one night. We were hanging out, drinking, and I lamented about how I didn’t want to be a virgin anymore. It was a one time thing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You lost your virginity to him?! </span>
  </em>
  <span>It’d be one thing to have just fucked him because he was there, but he was your </span>
  <em>
    <span>first</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!” Chandler nearly shrieks again, twisting less gracefully this time to look at her in shock.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Would you lower your voice?!” Veronica scolds. “Again, I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>17</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I did a lot of dumb stuff in high school.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You saying I’m dumb, Sawyer?” JD jokes, trying to lighten the mood and take the pressure off of Veronica.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The dumbest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The table gets quiet for a bit, until Mac decides to break the silence. “Well, now I don’t see why I </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> peg JD.”</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <span><br/>Things calm down for the rest of the night; only mild teasing of Veronica. It’s close to 1 in the morning when they all decide to call it a night. Veronica waves at her friends as best as she can with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> drunk Heather Chandler hanging off of her while Mac, who had switched to non-alcoholic drinks quite early on, tries her best to wrangle an almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>equally</span>
  </em>
  <span> drunk Duke to the car.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Ronicaaaa</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Chandler slurs, shoving her face into Veronica’s shoulder. “I like you so much.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica snorts and starts leading her to the car. It’s quite the task, Heather is practically deadweight against her. “Come on, Drunky, let’s get you home.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Home,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she sighs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That means you need to move your feet, Dear.” Heather’s head lolls back, her eyes look wetter. Veronica’s brow furrows and she asks, “What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Dear?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly Chandler flings her head back and practically wails, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Baby!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Mac calls back, struggling with getting Duke to sit still long enough to be buckled into the car.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Veronica just called me ‘dear’!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did she now. How nice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chandler leans against Veronica again. She can hear her sniffle against her throat. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Is Heather crying?</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Hey,” she starts softly, nudging Chandler back a bit. “Are you okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heather’s eyes have welled up considerably and her bottom lip trembles slightly. She sniffs again and mumbles out, “I just like you </span>
  <em>
    <span>so much</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Veronica blushes and Heather throws herself onto her once more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Heather, can we please go to the car? I think it’s about time you go to bed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she feels against her throat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And why not?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because you’re not coming with us…” That throws Veronica a bit. Is Heather really upset because of that? She didn’t know she cared that much.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know I don’t have to go back to my apartment, right? I can go home with you guys if it really means that much to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chandler gasps and leans back. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You can?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” She whips her head around, looking for Mac. “Baby! Can Veronica come home with us?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac finally makes her way over to them; Duke leaning against the inside of the car door, almost asleep. “That’s up to her, Honey. How about you and I get into the car, though, and she can think about it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That makes Chandler cling to her even tighter. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Nooo</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she whines. Mac looks up at Veronica, eyes dead, and sighs deeply.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll stay the night if you get in the car,” Veronica tells her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chandler looks at her with drunk puppy dog eyes and asks, “Carry me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Veronica looks at her lanky arms and then back at Mac. “Uh…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mac sighs again then wedges one arm between Chandler and Veronica. She pulls her away from Veronica enough so that she can lean down and sweep her legs up too. Chandler squeals and loosens her grip around Veronica enough that she can duck and slip out of her arms. Mac carries Chandler to the car while Veronica walks behind her. They have more ease getting her in and buckled than Mac had with Duke, and when the door closes, Mac sighs one more time and looks apologetically at Veronica. “I’m sorry for them. You don’t have to stay tonight. I can take you home if you’d like.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t mind,” Veronica assures. “It might be nice to spend the night with all of you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You say that now,” Mac mumbles before walking around to the drivers side door. Veronica laughs and gets in the car herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If they thought getting the two drunk Heathers in the car was difficult, getting them both in the house, undressed, and into bed was nearly impossible. They somehow manage to corral them and Mac and Veronica flank them on the bed to keep them from moving any more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they finally hear the two fall asleep, Mac whispers into the dark, “Goodnight, Ronnie.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight, Heather,” she whispers back.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I am currently quarantined away from my real life girlfriend at the moment, so I might not be in the best headspace to work on this in the next two weeks. But I will try when the motivation comes. </p><p>In other words, there’s going to be another week long break between this chapter and the next. So, I’ll see you then?</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I haven’t written in about 6 years, but I had this idea and told it to discord and they encouraged it. Then I couldn’t stop thinking about it so I’m writing it. Updates to come every Sunday.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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